Nucor reported net income of $1.14 billion in the first quarter

In the fourth quarter of 2022, the company's net profit was $1.26 billion

American steel corporation Nucor released financial and production results for the first quarter of 2023. It is stated in a report on the company’s website.

The company’s net income which belongs to its shareholders was $1.14 billion in this period, compared to $1.26 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022 and $2.1 billion in the first quarter of 2022. Net sales in the first quarter of 2023 amounted to $8.71 billion – it remained almost at the level of the fourth quarter of 2022, but fell by 17% y/y. The average selling price per ton in the first quarter fell by 11% compared to the fourth quarter of 2022, and by 18% y/y.

The operational performance of Nucor’s steel mills increased to 79% in the first quarter of 2023 compared to 70% in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Leon Topalian, chairman, president and CEO of Nucor, described the first quarter of 2023 as successful, particularly due to strong performance in the steel products segment.

“Demand from nonresidential construction, our largest end market, continues to be robust driven by strength in infrastructure and manufacturing investment.  Average steel mill utilization rates and profit margins were both up in the first quarter compared to the fourth quarter,” he noted.

According to Topalian, the largest increase was observed at enterprises producing rolled steel.

In the first quarter of 2023, Nucor increased shipments of steel products to external customers by 12% q/q and by 1% in annual terms – up to 6.4 million tons.

The company’s new EAF plant in Kentucky, which began operations in October 2022, continued to ramp up production during the first quarter, according to Nucor’s report. In 2023, they plan to produce 500,000 tons of flat rolled steel and structural materials here. The company is expected to be profitable in the fourth quarter of this year.

In the second quarter of 2023, the company expects an increase in profit compared to January-March, in particular, in the steel segment due to increased profitability at enterprises producing rolled sheets.

Nucor and its subsidiaries are producers of steel and steel products with operations in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The company is the largest steel producer in the United States, with 15 mills across the country.

As GMK Center reported earlier, the USA in February 2023 reduced imports of steel by 13.5% compared to January 2023 – to 2.25 million tons. The volume of finished products in the total volume of steel imports to the USA in February 2023 was 1.71 million tons. This is 14.3% less than in January 2023. In January-February 2023, the States reduced steel imports by 9.8% compared to the same period in 2022 – to 4.86 million tons. The import of finished steel products amounted to 3.72 million tons, which is 9.7% less y/y.