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Nucor Corporation NUE recorded net earnings of $2,250.4 million or $7.97 per share in fourth-quarter 2021, surging from net earnings of $398.8 million or $1.30 per share in the year-ago quarter. Earnings per share topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7.82.
The company logged net sales of $10,364.4 million, up around 97% year over year. The figure, however, missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $10,557.5 million. The company benefited from a rally in sales prices in the quarter.
Nucor Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Nucor Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Nucor Corporation Quote
Operating Figures
Total steel mills shipments in the fourth quarter were 5,869,000 tons, up 1% year over year. Total tons shipped to outside customers were down 1% year over year to 6,417,000 tons. Average sales price jumped 99% year over year.
Steel mill operating rates were 89% in the quarter, up from 87% in the year-ago quarter.
Segment Highlights
Earnings of the company’s steel mills unit were comparable in the reported quarter on a sequential comparison basis, notwithstanding reduced volumes and a planned outage in December 2021 at its sheet mill in Kentucky.
The steel products unit delivered higher earnings on a sequential comparison basis on strong demand in non-residential construction markets.
Earnings in the raw materials unit were down sequentially in the fourth quarter due to margin compression at the company’s direct reduced iron facilities.
FY21 Results
Earnings for full-year 2021 were $23.16 per share, up from earnings of $2.36 per share a year ago. Net sales increased 81% year over year to $36.48 billion.
Financial Position
At the end of 2021, cash and cash equivalents fell roughly 10% year over year to $2,364.9 million. Long-term debt was $4,961.4 million, down around 6% year over year.
The company repurchased roughly 13.5 million shares of its common stock during the fourth quarter.
Outlook
Moving ahead, the company said that demand remains strong for steel and steel products in its end-use markets, and expects 2022 will be another year of strong profitability.
Nucor envisions consolidated net earnings attributable to its shareholders in the first quarter of 2022 will be modestly lower from the record results in the fourth quarter of 2021.
The company expects earnings for the steel mill segment to decline in the first quarter due to lower profitability of its sheet mills. It sees further margin expansion and profitability for the steel products segment in the first quarter on improved backlog pricing reflecting higher steel costs. Earnings of the raw materials segment are projected to improve modestly in the first quarter on a sequential comparison basis due to the improved profitability of the direct reduced iron facilities, partly masked by the impact of lower scrap prices on its scrap brokerage and processing operations.