Nucor Corporation reported record consolidated net earnings of $2.36 billion, or $7.42 per diluted share, for 2018 compared to $1.32 billion, or $4.10 per diluted share, 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, or $2.07 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2018. By comparison, Nucor reported consolidated net earnings of $676.7 million, or $2.13 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2018 and $383.9 million, or $1.20 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2017. Consolidated net earnings of $646.8 million reported in the fourth quarter of 2018 represents the strongest fourth quarter performance in the Company’s history.
“The best way to sum up 2018 is this – it was a record year for Nucor. We posted record earnings per share and record revenue, and we shipped a record amount of steel,” said John Ferriola, Nucor’s chairman, chief executive officer and president. “Over the past decade, we have been positioning Nucor to take full advantage of an upturn in the steel market. During that time, we invested more than $9 billion to increase the Company’s peak earnings power. These investments enhanced our competitive strengths by building on our product diversity and market leadership positions. Our 2018 financial results demonstrate that Nucor’s disciplined strategy of investing for profitable growth is working.”
The average scrap and scrap substitute cost per gross ton used in the fourth quarter of 2018 was $359, a 4 percent decrease compared to $374 in the third quarter of 2018 and a 13 percent increase compared to $317 in the fourth quarter of 2017. The average scrap and scrap substitute cost per gross ton used for the full year 2018 was $361, an 18 percent increase from $307 for the full year 2017.
The board of directors of Nucor declared the regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.40 per share on Nucor’s common stock. This cash dividend is payable on May 10, 2019 to stockholders of record on March 29, 2019, and is Nucor’s 184th consecutive quarterly cash dividend.
Published in the April 2019 Edition