Flush with Cash, Steelmaker Nucor Expects to Up Capex by $700 Million This Year

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Last year was very good to steel producer Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) (Charlotte, North Carolina), whose annual profits skyrocketed more than eight-fold from 2020 amid a rebound in nonresidential construction across the U.S. In line with this, the company has undertaken a slew of capital projects and expects to increase its capital expenditures by about than $700 million in 2022. Industrial Info is tracking $6.8 billion worth of active projects by the steelmaker.

For 2021, Nucor reported net earnings of $6.83 billion, compared with net earnings of $721.5 million in 2020. The company reported net sales of $36.48 billion in 2021, an 81% increase over sales in recession-ridden 2020.

For 2022, Nucor is planning $2.3 billion in capital expenditures, compared with $1.6 billion in 2021. Nucor executives said the company will spend more than $5 billion on capital projects over the next three years.

Chief Executive Officer Leon Topalian noted during the company's Wednesday fourth-quarter earnings conference call the recently-announced selection of Mason County, West Virginia, as the location for its new $2.7 billion sheet mill. The planned facility will have the capacity to produce 3 million tons of steel annually. It will be equipped to produce 84-inch sheet products, and will include a 76-inch tandem cold mill and two galvanizing lines. Construction is expected to take two years. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Project Database can click here for a detailed project report.

Nucor also has announced plans to build a $350 million rebar micro mill, with spooling capabilities, to be located in the South Atlantic region. This would be Nucor's third rebar micro mill, joining its existing micro mills in Missouri and Florida, and would have an annual capacity of 430,000 tons. Rebar is used in the construction of roads, buildings, sidewalks and other structures. Topalian said he was pleased by the passage of the U.S. infrastructure funding bill last year, noting about half of Nucor's products go into the construction market. Subscribers can click here for a project report.

In addition, Nucor plans to build a blast and prime line addition at its new greenfield steel plate mill in Brandenberg, Kentucky, which is under construction. The line addition will have a capacity of 120,000 tons per year. The 1.2 million ton-per-year Brandenburg mill is on track to produce its first sheet steel in fourth-quarter 2022, Topalian said. Subscribers can click here for a report on the Brandenburg steel plate mill and here for a report on the blast and prime line addition.

In December, Topalian said, the company's sheet mill in Hickman, Arkansas, produced its first prime coil from its new Generation 3 flexible galvanizing line. Subscribers can learn more by clicking here.

Another sheet mill project, Nucor's hot band modernization and expansion project at its Gallatin site in Ghent, Kentucky, is planned to begin startup this quarter, Topalian said. Subscribers can click here for more details.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn.