Nucor Reports Results for Fourth Quarter and Year Ended 2020

by David Fleschen

Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) today announced consolidated net earnings of $398.8 million, or $1.30 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2020. By comparison, Nucor reported consolidated net earnings of $193.4 million, or $0.63 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2020 and $107.8 million, or $0.35 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2019. Included in the fourth quarter of 2020 results were the following non-operational items (in millions):

Non-Operational Item

  

Segment

  

Gross Amount of
Expense1

  

Expense/(Benefit) Net of Tax

  

Non-cash impairment charge

  

Steel mills

  

$

103.2

  

$

78.7

  

Non-cash impairment charge

  

Raw materials

    

27.0

    

21.0

  

Loss on assets - Duferdofin Nucor

  

Steel mills

    

184.0

    

(17.9)

  

State tax credits

  

N/A

    

-

    

(39.7)

  

CARES Act tax carryback provision

  

N/A

    

-

    

(48.2)

  
       

$

314.2

  

$

(6.1)

  

 

1Gross amounts are included in segment reporting. Segment reporting does not include any tax effects.

With the exception of the state tax credits, the non-operational items presented in the above table were not quantifiable at the time of our guidance that was released on December 17, 2020. Refer to the "Review of Non-Operational Items" section for more information related to these items.

For the full year 2020, Nucor reported consolidated net earnings of $721.5 million, or $2.36 per diluted share, compared with consolidated net earnings of $1.27 billion, or $4.14 per diluted share, in 2019.

"Over the last 12 months, the Nucor team has demonstrated incredible resilience as we navigated macroeconomic headwinds and the challenging operating environment created by the COVID-19 pandemic," said Leon Topalian, Nucor's President and Chief Executive Officer. "At the onset of the pandemic, we capitalized on the flexibility of our business model and strong demand for our products to gain market share across nearly our entire portfolio. Even as we worked hard to drive growth and value creation, the safety of our teammates and our commitment to customer relationships remained our top priorities. I am proud to report that 2020 was the safest year in Nucor's history."

Mr. Topalian continued, "We are extremely grateful to our more than 26,000 teammates whose hard work and dedication enabled us to achieve strong financial and operational results throughout the year. Looking ahead, we are confident that Nucor is poised for continued growth, and we anticipate earnings in the first quarter of 2021 to significantly increase from the fourth quarter of 2020. All of us at Nucor remain committed to delivering strong results for our stockholders and strengthening our position as the most profitable steel and steel products company in the world."

Source: Nucor, Photo: Fotolia

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