Nucor Reports Results for Quarter, Year

Nucor Corp. reported consolidated net sales for the fourth quarter increased 4 percent over this year's third quarter net sales to $1.661 billion. Fourth quarter earnings were $20.6 million, compared with $16 million the same time the previous year.

Nucor's consolidated net sales for 2003 increased 30 percent to $6.266 billion, compared with $4.802 billion the previous year. Average sales price per ton increased less than 1 percent, while total tons shipped to outside customers increased 30 percent.

In the fourth quarter of 2003, Nucor's consolidated net sales increased 28 percent to $1.661 billion, compared with $1.294 billion the previous year’s four quarter.

Average sales price per ton increased 2 percent from the fourth quarter of 2002 and increased 5 percent from the third quarter of 2003. Total tons shipped to outside customers increased 26 percent from the fourth quarter of 2002 and decreased 2 percent from the third quarter of 2003.

The increase in total tons shipped was primarily due to the acquisitions of the assets of Trico Steel Company, LLC in July 2002 and the assets of Birmingham Steel Corporation in December 2002. Excluding the increases resulting from these acquisitions, total tons shipped to outside customers increased 6 percent from 2002 to 2003 and increased 5 percent from the fourth quarter of 2002 to the fourth quarter of 2003.

Nucor's consolidated net earnings for the current year decreased 61 percent to $62.8 million, compared with $162.1 million in 2002.

Net earnings for this year's fourth quarter decreased 52 percent to $20.6 million, compared with $42.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2002. Net earnings for the fourth quarter of 2003 were negatively impacted by higher scrap and energy costs as well as by continued severely depressed levels of activity in the nonresidential construction and capital goods markets. The average scrap and scrap substitute cost per ton used increased $27 (25%) from 2002, increased $37 (31%) from the fourth quarter of 2002 to the fourth quarter of 2003, and increased $18 (13%) from the third quarter of 2003 to the fourth quarter of 2003.

The average scrap cost per ton purchased increased $65 (57%) from December 2002 to December 2003.

Nucor established annual tonnage records for steel production, total steel shipments and steel shipments to outside customers in 2003. Steel production was 17,441,000 tons for the year, compared with 13,622,000 tons in 2002, an increase of 28 percent. Total steel shipments increased 31 percent to 17,656,000 tons in 2003, compared with 13,438,000 tons in the previous year. Steel sales to outside customers increased 32 percent to 16,263,000 tons in 2003, compared with 12,314,000 tons in 2002. In the steel products segment, steel joist production for 2003 was 503,000 tons, compared with 462,000 tons in the previous year. Steel deck sales were 353,000 tons, compared with 330,000 tons in 2002. Cold finished steel sales were 237,000 tons in 2003, compared with 226,000 tons in the previous year.

Pre-operating and start-up costs of new facilities increased to $117.5 million in 2003, compared with $84.4 million in 2002. For the fourth quarter of 2003, pre-operating and start-up costs decreased to $26 million,0 compared with $31.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2002.

In 2003, these costs primarily related to the start-up of the sheet mill in Decatur, Alabama and the Castrip® facility at Nucor’s sheet mill in Crawfordsville, Indiana. In 2002, these costs primarily related to the start-up of the Castrip facility, the Vulcraft facility in Chemung, New York and Nucor Steel Decatur, LLC.

Nucor expects the first quarter of 2004 to be impacted by high scrap costs but anticipates that higher average selling prices will provide increased margins.