Nucor Corporation announced today record consolidated net earnings of $2.36 billion for 2018 compared to $1.32 billion for 2017. The new earnings record of $7.42 per diluted share in 2018 is a 24 percent increase as compared to the company's previous record earnings of $5.98 per diluted share reported in 2008.
Nucor reported consolidated net earnings of $646.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2018. By comparison, Nucor reported consolidated net earnings of $676.7 million for the third quarter of 2018 and $383.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2017.
For 2018, Nucor's consolidated net sales increased 24 percent to $25.07 billion, compared with $20.25 billion for 2017. In 2018, Nucor posted its highest consolidated sales in the Company's history, surpassing Nucor's previous record by 6 percent. Total tons shipped to outside customers in 2018 were 27,899,000, an increase of 5 percent from 2017, while average sales price per ton increased 18 percent.
Nucor's consolidated net sales decreased 7 percent to $6.30 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018 compared with $6.74 billion in the third quarter of 2018 and increased 24 percent compared with $5.09 billion in the fourth quarter of 2017. Average sales price per ton decreased 2 percent compared to the third quarter of 2018 and increased 21 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2017. Total tons shipped to outside customers were 6,687,000 tons in the fourth quarter of 2018, a 5 percent decrease from the third quarter of 2018 and an increase of 2 percent from the fourth quarter of 2017. Total fourth quarter steel mill shipments decreased 6 percent from the third quarter of 2018 and increased 2 percent from the fourth quarter of 2017. Fourth quarter downstream steel products shipments to outside customers decreased 10 percent from the third quarter of 2018 and decreased 1 percent from the fourth quarter of 2017.
Overall operating rates at Nucor’s steel mills decreased to 88 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018 as compared to 92 percent in the third quarter of 2018 and increased compared to 82 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017. Steel mill operating rates for the full year 2018 increased to 91 percent as compared to 86 percent for the full year 2017.
As for an outlook, the company said in a statement: “We expect another strong quarter for earnings in the first quarter of 2019. Although sheet pricing and margins are expected to decrease in the first quarter of 2019 as compared to the fourth quarter of 2018, this will be partially offset by expected increases in profitability of our bar mills and structural mills. The performance of the raw materials segment is expected to decrease in the first quarter of 2019 as compared to the fourth quarter of 2018 due to the decreased performance of our DRI businesses, which continue to be negatively impacted by declining average selling prices for raw materials that began in the fourth quarter of 2018. The profitability of our steel products segment in the first quarter of 2019 is expected to be similar to the fourth quarter of 2018. We expect first quarter of 2019 earnings to be much stronger than the first quarter of 2018.”