Nucor Corporation today announced consolidated net earnings of $2.25 billion for the fourth quarter of 2021. By comparison, Nucor reported consolidated net earnings of $2.13 billion for the third quarter of 2021 and $398.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2020.
For the full year 2021, Nucor reported consolidated net earnings of $6.83 billion, compared with consolidated net earnings of $721.5 million in 2020.
Nucor's consolidated net sales increased slightly to $10.36 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared with $10.31 billion in the third quarter of 2021 and increased 97 percent compared with $5.26 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Average sales price per ton in the fourth quarter of 2021 increased 12 percent compared with the third quarter of 2021 and increased 99 percent compared with the fourth quarter of 2020. A total of 6,417,000 tons were shipped to outside customers in the fourth quarter of 2021, an 11 percent decrease from the third quarter of 2021 and a 1 percent decrease compared to the fourth quarter of 2020.
Total steel mill shipments in the fourth quarter of 2021 decreased 10 percent as compared to the third quarter of 2021 and increased 1 percent compared to shipments in the fourth quarter of 2020. Steel mill shipments to internal customers represented 22 percent of total steel mill shipments in the fourth quarter of 2021, a slight increase compared to 21 percent in the third quarter of 2021 and 19 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020. Downstream steel product shipments to outside customers in the fourth quarter of 2021 decreased 12 percent from the third quarter of 2021 and decreased 1 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2020.
For 2021, Nucor's consolidated net sales of $36.48 billion increased 81 percent compared with consolidated net sales of $20.14 billion reported in 2020. Total tons shipped to outside customers in 2021 were 28,247,000, an increase of 11 percent from 2020, while the average sales price per ton in 2021 increased 64 percent from 2020.
Overall operating rates at the company's steel mills decreased to 89 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021 as compared to 96 percent in the third quarter of 2021 and increased from 87 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020. Operating rates for the full year 2021 increased to 94 percent as compared to 82 percent for the full year 2020.
In a press release, the company said steel mills segment earnings in the fourth quarter of 2021 were comparable to the third quarter of 2021 despite lower volumes and a planned outage for the month of December at Nucor’s sheet mill in Kentucky. The steel products segment generated increased earnings in the fourth quarter of 2021 as compared to the third quarter of 2021 as demand in nonresidential construction markets remained strong. Raw materials segment earnings decreased in the fourth quarter of 2021 as compared to the third quarter of 2021 primarily due to margin compression at Nucor’s direct reduced iron facilities, the company said.
As for an outlook for Q1, the company said end use market demand remains strong for steel and steel products, and the company is “confident that 2022 will be another year of strong profitability for Nucor.”
Steel mill segment earnings are expected to decline in the first quarter of 2022 due to decreased profitability of Nucor’s sheet mills. The steel products segment is expected to achieve further margin expansion and profitability in the first quarter of 2022 as backlog pricing has improved reflecting higher steel costs. Earnings of the raw materials segment are expected to improve slightly in the first quarter of 2022 as compared to the fourth quarter of 2021 due to the improved profitability of the company’s direct reduced iron facilities, partially offset by the impact of lower scrap prices on its scrap brokerage and processing operations, Nucor said.