SDI posts lower Q4 profit, predicts better times in '25

Steel Dynamics Inc.’s (SDI’s) profits narrowed in the fourth quarter of 2024 on lower steel prices, import competition, and continued losses from its sheet mill in Sinton, Texas.

The Fort Wayne, Ind.-based steelmaker said results also suffered from an unplanned outage at its sheet mill in Butler, Ind. The outage reduced sales volumes by ~50,000 tons.

By the numbers

All told, SDI posted net income of $207.3 million in the fourth quarter, down 51% from $424.3 million the same quarter a year earlier on sales that slipped 8.5% to $3.87 billion. That’s according to earnings data released after the close of market on Wednesday.

SDI also saw margins squeezed as steel prices fell more than scrap prices. The company recorded average steel selling prices of $1,011 per ton in Q4’24 down $79/ton from Q4’23. Average ferrous scrap costs fell $23/ton to $370/ton over the same period.

But SDI remained upbeat about its 2025 prospects. That optimism came thanks to a predicted improvement in demand, forecasts of Sinton swinging to profitability, and expectations of additional protections from imports.

Market commentary

“Steel pricing has stabilized, and customer optimism continues to be solid across our steel operations, as demand continues to be steady,” SDI Chairman and CEO Mark Millett said in a statement.

“We believe current trade actions could also reduce volumes of unfairly traded steel imports into the United States, especially for coated flat-rolled steel, which could have a significant positive impact for us, as we are the largest non-automotive flat rolled steel coater in the United States,” he added.

Recall that domestic mills and the United Steelworkers (USW) union in September filed a trade petition against imports of coated flat-rolled steel from 10 countries. The Commerce Department is expected to announce preliminary duty determinations by April 3.

Note, too, that SDI started up four new flat-rolled coating lines in the first half of last year. Such capacity expansions on the coated side have led to speculation that increased US output could soften the blow of any drop in offshore supply resulting from the trade case.

New and new(ish) operations update

Sinton ran at more than 80% of its rated capacity in November and December while also improving the quality of its products, SDI said. But the mill nonetheless posted an operating loss of $58 million in the fourth quarter.

All told, the mill recorded an operating loss of $182 million in 2024, down from an operating loss of $241 million in 2023. SDI expects Sinton to turn an operating profit in the first half of 2025 and for that profit to increase over the course of the year.

The company rolled the first coils from Sinton in January 2022. The mill struggled to be profitable because of various issues and outages over the years. But it has become more of a factor in the market over the last year as it has resolved some of those problems.

On the nonferrous side, meanwhile, SDI said on Jan. 12 it successfully cast ingots for industrial and beverage can applications at its new flat-rolled aluminum rolling mill in Columbus, Miss.

“We plan to continue commissioning throughout the facility during the coming months, and to produce commercially viable products before mid-year 2025,” Millett said.

SDI in July 2022 announced plans to build what has become $2.5-billion flat-rolled aluminum mill and related scrap processing operations. The rolling mill is being built in Columbus, where SDI also operates a steel mill.

The company in addition plans to build two slab casting facilities to feed the mill – one in the southwestern US and one in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. SDI has said the facility in Mexico should start up in the first quarter.