On October 22, Nucor Steel released its third quarter performance report. The report shows that Nucor Steel’s third-quarter operating income was US$4.928 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 10% and a quarter-on-quarter increase of 14%; net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies was US$193 million (US$275 million in the same period last year, a year-on-year decrease of 29.82 %), earnings per share was US$0.63 (US$0.90 in the same period last year); exports were 6.367 million tons, a quarter-on-quarter increase of 16% and a year-on-year decrease of 3%.

In the first three quarters, Nucor Steel’s operating income was US$14.88 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 14.78%; the net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies was US$323 million (the same period last year was US$1.163 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 72.23%), and earnings per share were 1.06 US dollars ($3.79 in the same period last year); exports were 19.033 million tons, down 5% year-on-year.

In the third quarter, Nucor's operating rate rose from 68% in the second quarter to 83%, which was the same as in the third quarter of 2019; in the first three quarters, Nucor's operating rate dropped from 85% in the first three quarters of last year to 80% .

As of the end of the third quarter, Nucor Steel had $3.41 billion in cash and cash equivalents, and continued to have the strongest credit rating in the North American steel industry (Moody's and Standard & Poor’s both gave it a Baa1/A- credit rating).

“In the third quarter, the non-residential construction market rebounded strongly, and the auto market also accelerated its recovery. Benefiting from this, Nucor Steel’s third-quarter performance was better than expected. Under the influence of weaker seasonal demand in the fourth quarter, Nucor is expected to Steel performance will continue to improve, which is related to the increase in the price of the heavy plate and the increase in operating income of the raw material department. However, Nucor Steel will still face challenges in the thin plate market." Leon Topa, President and CEO of Nucor Steel Leon (Leon Topalian) said.

On September 10, Nucor Steel’s board of directors announced that it will pay a cash dividend of $0.4025 per share on November 10. This is the 190th consecutive quarter of Payley for Nucor Steel.