US Steel reported Tuesday that the company posted fourth quarter 2008 profits of $308 million, nearly eight times greater than profits of approximately $35 million in the fourth quarter of 2007.
However, fourth quarter profits were substantially below third quarter profits of $919 million. The company's sales were comparable to fourth quarter 2007, while shipments declined about 29 percent from fourth quarter 2007 to 4.2 million tons.
Moving forward, US Steel expects the weak demand and decreasing prices to result in a loss in the first quarter of 2009. "We do not know when conditions may improve, but we are well positioned to fully participate in a market recovery when it occurs," US Steel Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, John P. Surma, said.
Another American steel company, Steel Dynamics Inc., also reported fourth quarter financial results Tuesday, though in the case of SDI, the company posted an $83 million net loss, down from a $98 million profit in the same quarter of last year. (See SO's article: Steel Dynamics reports loss in Q4 2008 but record full year results.)
Another US steelmaker, AK Steel, reported an even bigger net loss for the fourth quarter, at negative $430.6 million, compared to a net profit of $106.7 million in the 2009 fourth quarter.
The company's net sales and shipments were $1.5 billion and 1.1 million tons respectively, resulting in a year-over-year quarterly decrease of 14 percent in sales and 32 percent in shipments. Meanwhile, AK Steel's operating loss for the 2008 fourth quarter was $689.2 million, or $642 per ton, compared to an operating profit of $153.5 million, or $98 per ton, for the 2007 fourth quarter.
However, AK Steel president and CEO, James L. Wainscott, stated, looking toward the future, "AK Steel is uniquely prepared to weather this economic storm, and we will continue to make the necessary adjustments, not only to meet today's challenges, but to quickly take advantage of any improving market conditions."
On the bright side, the company set a net sales record in 2008, with $7.6 billion on shipments of 5.9 million tons, compared to sales of $7 million on shipments of 6.5 million tons for 2007. AK Steel's average selling price for 2008 also set a record $1,303 per ton, approximately 21 percent higher than its 2007 average of $1,081 per ton.
Meanwhile, Nucor Corporation reported earnings of $105.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2008, compared to $364.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2007, which represents a 71 percent year-over-year earnings decrease. The company's fourth quarter sales also declined year-over-year by 6 percent to $4.15 billion.
Total shipments declined 36 percent from third quarter, 2008, another indication of the drop-off in the construction and automotive industries.
However, Nucor earned a record $1.83 billion, in net earnings in the full-year 2008, up from $1.47 billion in 2007. The company also set a new sales record of $23.66 billion, which was a 43 percent increase from 2007.