Steel Dynamics Reports Record Third Quarter 2018 Financial Results

FORT WAYNE, Ind., Oct. 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ/GS: STLD) today announced third quarter 2018 financial results.  The company reported third quarter 2018 net sales of $3.2 billion and net income of $398 million, or $1.69 per diluted share, which includes charges of approximately $13 million (pretax), or $0.04 per diluted share, related to fair value purchase accounting adjustments associated with the recent Heartland acquisition, and a tax benefit of $10 million, or $0.04 per diluted share, associated with a change in tax accounting methodology.  Excluding these items, the company's third quarter 2018 adjusted net income was $397 million, or $1.69 per diluted share. 

Comparatively, prior year third quarter net sales were $2.4 billion, with net income of $153 million, or $0.64 per diluted share, which included debt refinancing and repayment charges of $0.02 per diluted share, and sequential second quarter 2018 net sales were $3.1 billion, with net income of $362 million, or $1.53 per diluted share. 

"The team delivered a tremendous third quarter performance, once again attaining numerous operational and financial milestones," said Mark D. Millett, President and Chief Executive Officer.  "Our third quarter 2018 income from operations of $532 million and adjusted EBITDA of $626 million were both record highs for the company.  Our strong financial performance was the result of record steel shipments, average steel selling price improvement, and resulting metal spread expansion across our steel operations.  Underlying domestic steel demand remained strong.  There was some temporary hesitancy in flat roll order activity based on customer sentiment and increased hot roll coil import levels. However, demand from major steel consuming sectors was steady, including construction, automotive, and energy.   

"Earnings from our metals recycling platform declined in the quarter primarily as a result of our nonferrous operations, as shipments and commodity prices declined.  In addition, China's decision to ban certain grades of recycled material has had a negative impact on nonferrous sales volume.  

"Our steel fabrication platform achieved record shipments in the quarter, as nonresidential construction demand remained strong and customer sentiment positive.  The order backlog remained at near record highs entering October. Despite the positive demand environment, earnings from our steel fabrication operations slightly decreased by the continued rise in average steel input costs," said Millett.

The company generated record quarterly cash flow from operations of $420 million during the third quarter 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.     

Third Quarter 2018 Comments

Third quarter 2018 operating income for the company's steel operations increased seven percent sequentially to a record $577 million, based on metal spread expansion across the platform, as average steel product pricing increased more than consumed raw material scrap costs.  The third quarter 2018 average product selling price for the company's steel operations increased $56 to $988 per ton.  The average ferrous scrap cost per ton melted increased $4 to $352 per ton. 

Third quarter 2018 operating income attributable to the company's flat roll steel operations increased five percent sequentially, driven by metal spread expansion related to continued strong underlying demand and higher average selling values.  Operating income from the company's long product steel operations increased 17 percent, as a result of higher average selling values and metal spread expansion. 

Third quarter 2018 operating income from the company's metals recycling operations was $18 million, compared to $26 million in the sequential second quarter.  Ferrous shipments decreased slightly and metal spread remained steady.  The primary driver for lower earnings was a nine percent decline in nonferrous shipments and a five percent decrease in associated metal spread, as commodity pricing fell in the quarter. 

The company's fabrication operations recorded third quarter 2018 operating income of $13 million, compared to sequential second quarter results of $14 million, as record high shipments and improved average selling values were offset by continued higher average steel input costs.

Year-to-Date September 30, 2018 Comparison

For the nine months ended September 30, 2018, net income was $988 million, or $4.17 per diluted share, with net sales of $8.9 billion, as compared to net income of $508 million, or $2.09 per diluted share, with net sales of $7.2 billion for the same period in 2017.  Year-to-date 2018 net sales increased across all operating platforms, with the 24 percent improvement driven by higher average steel product pricing and record steel shipments.  Year-to-date 2018 operating income increased 56 percent to a first nine month record of $1.4 billion, based on improved earnings from the company's steel operations. The average year-to-date selling price for the company's steel operations increased $149 to $916 per ton.  The average year-to-date ferrous scrap cost per ton melted increased $49 to $340 per ton.

During the nine months ended September 30, 2018, the company generated strong cash flow from operations of $924 million and maintained liquidity of $2.2 billion at September 30, 2018.  The company also repurchased $193 million of its common stock during the first nine months of 2018.

Outlook   

"We remain confident that macroeconomic and market conditions are in place to benefit domestic steel consumption in 2019," said Millett.  "Based on strong domestic steel demand fundamentals and customer optimism, we believe steel consumption will continue to be strong.  In combination with our expansion initiatives, we believe there are firm drivers for our continued growth.  We are excited about the potential benefits that the recent Heartland acquisition brings to us.  Integration of Heartland is going well, and the teams are on track to achieve our expectation to reach an annual run-rate of between 800,000 tons and 900,000 tons by mid-year 2019.   

"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 third quarter 2018 operating and financial results on Thursday, October 18, 2018, 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 October 23, 2018.

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.