Steel Dynamics Reports Fourth Quarter and Record Annual 2018 Results

FORT WAYNE, Ind., Jan. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --

Annual 2018 Results:

• Record steel shipments of 10.6 million tons and steel fabrication shipments of 642,000 tons
• Record net sales of $11.8 billion and operating income of $1.7 billion
• Record net income of $1.3 billion
• Record annual cash flow from operations of $1.4 billion and EBITDA of over $2.0 billion

Steel Dynamics, Inc. STLD today announced fourth quarter and record annual 2018 financial results. The company reported fourth quarter 2018 net sales of $2.9 billion and net income of $270 million, or $1.17 per diluted share. Excluding the impact from the following items, the company's fourth quarter adjusted net income was $302 million, or $1.31 per diluted share:

• Additional performance-based compensation of approximately $12 million, or $0.04 per diluted share, awarded to all non-executive, eligible employees in recognition of exceptional performance,
• Estimated lower earnings of $14 million, or $0.04 per diluted share, associated with a planned outage at the company's liquid pig iron production facility to complete major maintenance items that occur once every three to four years, and
• Lower earnings from significant planned maintenance outages at the company's two flat roll steel mills, including estimated incremental maintenance costs of $20 million, or $0.06 per diluted share. The outages also reduced fourth quarter flat roll shipments by an estimated 70,000 to 80,000 tons combined.

Comparatively, prior year fourth quarter net sales were $2.3 billion, with net income of $305 million, or $1.28 per diluted share, which included a tax benefit of $0.83 per diluted share primarily related to the U.S. Federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA), lower earnings from facility outages of $0.07 per diluted share, and debt refinancing charges of $0.02 per diluted share.  Sequential third quarter 2018 net sales were $3.2 billion, with net income of $398 million, or $1.69 per diluted share.   

"The performance of the entire Steel Dynamics team was exceptional this year," said Mark D. Millett, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We performed at the top of our industry, both operationally and financially. We achieved numerous annual records across the business, including steel and fabrication shipments, operating income of $1.7 billion, net income of $1.3 billion, and EBITDA of over $2.0 billion.  Based on a record 2018 annual cash flow generation from operations of $1.4 billion, we were able to maintain strong liquidity, while at the same time growing our business through both organic and transactional growth investments, maintaining a positive dividend profile, and executing on our share repurchase program.  We have a firm foundation for our continued long-term, strategic growth and value creation.

"In 2018, the domestic steel industry benefited from a steady improvement in underlying steel consumption, based on strength from the automotive, construction and energy sectors.  Increased steel consumption, coupled with generally lower finished steel imports, created a strong market environment. Our steel operations achieved record annual operating income of $1.9 billion, far surpassing last year's record of $1.1 billion. Supported by improved domestic steel mill utilization, our metals recycling team increased annual shipments and earnings, and continued to reduce operating costs, resulting in annual operating income of $88 million.               

"Our fabrication platform also achieved record annual shipments in 2018.  However, higher average steel input costs resulted in metal spread compression throughout much of the year, resulting in annual 2018 operating income of $62 million, compared to 2017 operating income of $87 million.  This represents a solid performance in a rising steel cost environment," said Millett. "Customer sentiment remains strong for our fabrication business and the order backlog is even stronger now than it was at this time last year, which is a positive growth indicator for the non-residential construction sector."

Fourth Quarter 2018 Comments

Fourth quarter 2018 operating income for the company's steel operations was strong at $402 million, but decreased 30 percent compared to record sequential third quarter results, based on a six percent decline in shipments, and metal spread compression.  During the fourth quarter, the company also completed two significant planned maintenance outages at both its Butler and Columbus Flat Roll divisions, which increased costs by an estimated $20 million and reduced flat roll shipments during the quarter.  Fourth quarter 2018 operating income attributable to the company's flat roll operations decreased 34 percent when compared to the sequential third quarter.  Operating income from long products decreased 13 percent, primarily related to seasonally lower shipments.  The company's average overall steel product price decreased more than consumed raw material scrap costs, resulting in steel metal spread compression. The fourth quarter 2018 average product selling price for the company's steel operations decreased $48 to $940 per ton. The average ferrous scrap cost per ton melted decreased $9 to $343 per ton. 

Fourth quarter 2018 operating income from the company's metals recycling operations was $17 million, compared to $18 million in the sequential third quarter.  Improved average quarterly ferrous and non-ferrous metal spreads were offset by seasonally lower ferrous scrap shipments.

The company's fabrication operations fourth quarter 2018 operating income was $15 million, compared to $13 million in the sequential third quarter.  Earnings increased as improved product pricing more than offset the rise in raw material steel costs and seasonally lower shipments.

Annual 2018 Comparison

Annual 2018 net income was a record $1.3 billion, or $5.35 per diluted share, or excluding the impact from the listed fourth quarter 2018 adjustments, $5.49 per diluted share.  Comparatively, annual 2017 net income was $813 million, or $3.36 per diluted share, which included a tax benefit of $0.76 per diluted share related to the U.S. Federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) and debt refinancing costs of $0.05 per diluted share. 

Annual 2018 net sales were a record $11.8 billion compared to $9.5 billion in 2017.  Revenues from the steel platform increased $2.0 billion, and each of the company's other operating platforms also achieved higher annual sales based on improved product pricing and increased shipments.  Annual 2018 operating income was a record $1.7 billion compared to 2017's record operating income of $1.1 billion, a 61 percent increase. The improvement was driven by record earnings from the company's steel operations, based on record steel shipments and improved steel metal spread. The average 2018 selling price for the company's steel operations increased $157 to $922 per ton. The average 2018 ferrous scrap cost per ton melted increased $48 to $341 per ton. 

The company generated record cash flow from operations of $1.4 billion during 2018.  As evidence of the confidence in the company's outlook and sustainable long-term cash flow generation capability, the board of directors authorized an additional $750 million share repurchase program in September, following the completion of its $450 million authorization in August 2018.  The company repurchased 5.5% of its outstanding shares, or $524 million, during 2018.  

Outlook    

"We believe the market dynamics are in place for domestic steel consumption to continue to increase this year," said Millett.  "Based on strong domestic steel demand fundamentals and continued customer optimism, we believe North American steel consumption will experience steady growth.  In combination with our existing and newly announced expansion initiatives, we believe there are firm drivers for our continued growth.  We are excited about our new planned flat roll steel mill that was announced in the fourth quarter, and the anticipated long-term value creation it will bring through geographic and value-added product diversification.  The new mill will have capabilities beyond existing EAF flat roll steel producers, competing even more effectively with the integrated steel model and foreign competition.  We have targeted regional markets that currently represent over 27 million tons of relevant flat roll steel consumption, which includes the growing 16 million ton Mexican flat roll market.  Our new planned steel mill will have significant competitive advantages in those regions. 

"We continue to strengthen our financial position through strong cash flow generation and the execution of our long-term strategy. We are well-positioned for growth and remain focused on delivering shareholder value through organic and transactional growth opportunities," concluded Millett.

Conference Call and Webcast

Steel Dynamics, Inc. will hold a conference call to discuss fourth quarter and annual 2018 operating and financial results on Tuesday, January 22, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. You may access the call and find dial-in information on the Investors section of the company's website at www.steeldynamics.com. A replay of the call will be available on our website until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on January 27, 2019.

About Steel Dynamics, Inc.

Steel Dynamics is one of the largest domestic steel producers and metals recyclers in the United States based on estimated annual steelmaking and metals recycling capability, with facilities located throughout the United States, and in Mexico. Steel Dynamics produces steel products, including hot roll, cold roll, and coated sheet steel, structural steel beams and shapes, rail, engineered special-bar-quality steel, cold finished steel, merchant bar products, specialty steel sections and steel joists and deck. In addition, the company produces liquid pig iron and processes and sells ferrous and nonferrous scrap.

Note Regarding Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The company reports its financial results in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Management believes that Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP financial measures, provide additional meaningful information regarding the company's performance and financial strength. Non-GAAP financial measures should be viewed in addition to, and not as an alternative for, the company's reported results prepared in accordance with GAAP. In addition, because not all companies use identical calculations, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA included in this release may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains some predictive statements about future events, including statements related to conditions in the steel and metallic scrap markets, Steel Dynamics' revenues, costs of purchased materials, future profitability and earnings, and the operation of new or existing facilities. These statements, which we generally precede or accompany by such typical conditional words as "anticipate", "intend", "believe", "estimate", "plan", "seek", "project", or "expect", or by the words "may", "will", or "should", are intended to be made as "forward-looking", subject to many risks and uncertainties, within the safe harbor protections of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements speak only as of this date and are based upon information and assumptions, which we consider reasonable as of this date, concerning our businesses and the environments in which they operate. Such predictive statements are not guarantees of future performance, and we undertake no duty to update or revise any such statements. Some factors that could cause such forward-looking statements to turn out differently than anticipated include: (1) the effects of uncertain economic conditions; (2) cyclical and changing industrial demand; (3) changes in conditions in any of the steel or scrap-consuming sectors of the economy which affect demand for our products, including the strength of the non-residential and residential construction, automotive, manufacturing, appliance, pipe and tube, and other steel-consuming industries; (4) fluctuation in the cost of key raw materials and supplies (including steel scrap, iron units, and energy costs) and our ability to pass on any cost increases; (5) the impact of domestic and foreign import price competition; (6) unanticipated difficulties in integrating or starting up new or acquired businesses; (7) risks and uncertainties involving product and/or technology development; and (8) occurrences of unexpected plant outages or equipment failures.

More specifically, we refer you to Steel Dynamics' more detailed explanation of these and other factors and risks that may cause such predictive statements to turn out differently, as set forth in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K under the headings Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factors, in our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q or in other reports which we from time to time file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These are available publicly on the SEC website, www.sec.gov, and on the Steel Dynamics website, www.steeldynamics.com: Investors: SEC Filings.

SOURCE Steel Dynamics, Inc.