Nucor Reports Results for Quarter, First Half of Year

Nucor Corp. reported consolidated net sales for the first half of 2003 increased 32 percent to about $3 billion, compared with $2.278 billion  in last year's first half.

Average sales price per ton increased 2 percent while total tons shipped to outside customers increased 29 percent from the first half of 2002. In the second quarter of 2003, Nucor's consolidated net sales increased 27 percent to $1.52 billion, compared with $1.198 billion in last year's second quarter. Average sales price per ton increased 2 percent from the second quarter of 2002 and increased 4 percent from the first quarter of the year. Total tons shipped to outside customers increased 25 percent from the second quarter of 2002 and decreased 2 percent from the first quarter of the year.

Nucor's consolidated net earnings for the current year's first half were $26.2 million, compared with $80 million in the first half of last year. Nucor's consolidated net earnings for this year's second quarter were $8.4 million, compared with $59.7 million in the second quarter of 2002. Net earnings for the second quarter of 2003 were negatively impacted by higher than expected scrap and energy costs, continued severely depressed levels of non-residential construction and capital goods markets, increased pre-operating and start-up costs, and unexpected equipment related downtime and production curtailments at Nucor's Alabama sheet mill and North Carolina plate mill.

The average scrap and scrap substitute cost per ton used increased $25 from the first half of 2002 to the first half of 2003, increased $24 from the second quarter of 2002 to the second quarter of 2003 and increased $9 from the first quarter of 2003 to the second quarter of 2003.

The company also reported that total energy costs increased approximately $4 per ton from the first half of 2002 to the first half of 2003 and increased approximately $3 from the second quarter of 2002 to the second quarter of 2003.

In the steel mills segment in the first half of 2002, steel production was 8.545 million tons, compared with 6.754 million tons produced in the first half of 2002, an increase of 27 percent.

Total steel shipments increased 30 percent to 8.643 million tons in the first half of 2003, compared with 6.665 million tons in last year's first half. Steel shipments to outside customers increased 30 percent to 7.993 million tons in the first half of 2003, compared with 6.156 million tons in last year's first half. In the steel products segment, steel joist production during the first half of 2003 increased to 235,000 tons, compared with 210,000 tons in the first half of 2002. Steel deck sales increased to 172,000 tons in the first half of 2003, compared with 137,000 tons in last year's first half. Cold finished steel sales increased to 128,000 tons, compared with 113,000 tons in the first half of 2002.