Steel Dynamics, Inc. announced third quarter 2024 financial results, including net sales of $4.3 billion and net income of $318 million.
Comparatively, the company’s sequential second quarter 2024 net income was $428 million, and prior year third quarter net income was $577 million.
In a press release, the company said third quarter 2024 operating income for its steel operations was $305 million, lower than sequential results, as realized selling values declined more than scrap costs in the quarter.
The company’s Sinton Texas Flat Roll Steel Mill team completed the planned changes discussed on the second quarter 2024 earnings call. The team had great operating momentum in September and operated at 72 percent of its capability, excluding scheduled downtime.
Third quarter operating income from the company’s metals recycling operations decreased to $12 million, due to softer demand as many domestic steel mills had scheduled maintenance outages.
The company said its steel fabrication operations achieved a strong operating income of $166 million in the third quarter 2024. This is lower than sequential second quarter results, as demand remained steady and average realized pricing softened five percent yet remained historically strong.
The order backlog was steady, extending into the first quarter 2025. In addition, the company expects steel pricing to recover with an anticipated lower domestic interest rate environment, coupled with continuing onshoring of manufacturing businesses, and the expectation of significant fixed asset investment to be derived from public funding related to the U.S. Infrastructure, Inflation Reduction Act, and Department of Energy programs.
According to the statement, the company’s new value-added flat rolled steel coating lines that began operating earlier this year continue to increase production. Steel Dynamics have produced prime quality galvanized and painted products on all four lines in record time with expectations to realize their additional earnings potential in 2025.
Meanwhile, the company expects steel pricing to recover with an anticipated lower domestic interest rate environment, coupled with continuing onshoring of manufacturing businesses, and the expectation of significant fixed asset investment to be derived from public funding related to the US Infrastructure, Inflation Reduction Act, and Department of Energy programs. “We believe current trade actions could also reduce volumes of unfairly traded steel imports into the United States, especially for coated flat rolled steel, which could have a significant positive impact for us, as we are the largest non-automotive flat rolled steel coater in the United States. We believe these dynamics collectively could benefit all of our operating platforms, especially our steel and steel fabrication businesses,” Mark D. Millett, the CEO of the company, said.