SDI to Close Book on ’21 with Record Quarterly Profits

Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) has joined competitor Nucor in predicting another quarterly earnings record for the last quarter of 2021.

The Fort Wayne, Ind.-based steelmaker predicted fourth-quarter earnings in the range of $5.46 to $5.50 per diluted share, according to guidance released on Thursday, Dec. 16.

That’s up from $4.85 per diluted share in the third quarter, the prior record, and up from $0.89 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2020.

SDI said its steel mills, like the company overall, would see a record performance in the fourth quarter thanks to solid demand and wider spreads between raw material costs and steel selling prices.

Those factors should more than offset a decline in shipments, which the company said typically tail off toward the end of the year. “Domestic steel demand remains strong, with the automotive, construction, and industrial sectors continuing to lead the momentum,” SDI said.

On the scrap side, SDI expects results in the fourth quarter to be similar to those in the third despite slightly lower prices and a decline in shipments. “Many domestic steel mills had planned maintenance outages throughout the fourth quarter of 2021, which lowered ferrous scrap demand,” the company noted.

Ferrous scrap prices for December settled mostly sideways across the U.S. not only because of outages but also on weaker export demand and as mills sought to reduce year-end inventories.

SDI also forecast a strong showing from its downstream fabrication operations on firm demand from the construction sector. “The nonresidential construction sector remains strong as evidenced by robust order activity, resulting in another record order backlog and record forward pricing for the company’s steel fabrication platform,” the company said.

By Michael Cowden, Michael@SteelMarketUpdate.com