filings.toolsItem 6. Selected Financial Data
78K characters. Original on sec.gov · Markdown
Item 6. Selected Financial Data
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Not applicable as Nucor has early adopted the amendments to Item 301 of Regulation S-K outlined in the Final Rule adopted by the SEC on November 19, 2020.
| Item 7**.** | Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations |
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The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations of Nucor Corporation should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements of the Company and the accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements.
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations included in this report discusses our financial condition and results of operations as of and for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019. Information concerning the year ended December 31, 2019 and a comparison of the years ended December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018 may be found under “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, filed with the SEC on February 28, 2020.
Overview
The COVID-19 pandemic began to impact Nucor’s operations in the final weeks of the first quarter of 2020. It would rapidly become the most significant event of 2020, impacting almost all aspects of our business through the remainder of the year and into the present. Our most important value is the health and safety of our teammates, their families and the communities where we operate. We formed several internal task forces to closely monitor developments related to the pandemic. Our facilities around the country have taken steps to respond to COVID-19 based on the nature of their operations and the actions being taken by their state and local governments. We have restricted travel, upgraded the cleaning practices at our facilities and offices, implemented remote work for teammates wherever possible, and instituted social distancing measures throughout the Company. In addition to these measures, which are still in effect to varying degrees, we also took significant action to further strengthen our liquidity resources and financial position. These financial measures are further explained in the “Liquidity and Capital Resources” section of this “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” Across Nucor, we remain committed to protecting our teammates while minimizing disruptions to our customers and supply chain.
Due to the impact of the pandemic, the U.S. economy shrank by 3.5% in 2020, compared to a growth rate of 2.2% in 2019. Despite this, demand in several key end-use markets was surprisingly resilient in 2020, most notably in nonresidential construction and automotive, which together account for nearly two-thirds of steel consumption. Operating rates at our steel mills for the full year 2020 decreased to 82% as compared to 84% for the full year 2019. Industry-wide, the U.S. capacity utilization rate was 68% for 2020, down from 80% in 2019.
Economic conditions improved in the second half of 2020 and we are optimistic about market conditions heading into 2021. We expect the nonresidential construction and automotive markets to remain strong. We hope to see improvement in markets like heavy duty trucks, heavy equipment and agriculture that were down in 2020. We anticipate the recovery in oil and gas markets to be slow, but Nucor has seen increased sales into the renewable energy market.
The Section 232 steel tariffs continued to be effective in keeping unfairly traded imports out of the U.S. market. For the full year 2020, finished steel imports were down approximately 23% from the previous year and accounted for approximately 18% of U.S. market share.
Our Challenges and Risks
Sales of many of our products are largely dependent upon capital spending in the nonresidential construction markets in the United States, including in the industrial and commercial sectors, as well as capital spending on infrastructure that is publicly funded, such as bridges, schools, prisons and hospitals. While there has been no federal infrastructure bill in recent years, many states have passed bills funding infrastructure improvements.
While the Section 232 tariffs are having their intended impact by keeping unfairly traded imports out of the U.S. market, global steel production overcapacity continues to be a long-term challenge. Steel production in China rose in 2020, going from approximately 1.10 billion tons in 2019 to approximately 1.16 billion tons in 2020 – an increase of 5.5%. As a result, China’s share of global crude steel production rose from 53.3% in 2019 to 56.6% in 2020. The OECD projects that global excess steel production capacity was approximately 776 million tons in 2020, up from 624 million tons at the end of 2019, which was itself up significantly from the prior year.
A major uncertainty we continue to face in our business is the price of our principal raw material, ferrous scrap, which is volatile and often increases or decreases rapidly in response to changes in domestic demand, unanticipated events that affect the flow of scrap into scrap yards, the availability of scrap substitutes, currency fluctuations and changes in foreign demand for scrap. In periods of rapidly increasing raw material prices in the industry, which are often also associated with periods of strong or rapidly improving steel market conditions, being able to increase our prices for the products we sell quickly enough to offset increases in the prices we pay for ferrous scrap is challenging but critical to maintaining our profitability. We attempt to mitigate the scrap price risk by managing scrap inventory levels at the steel mills to match the anticipated demand over the next several weeks. Certain scrap substitutes, including pig iron, have longer lead times for delivery than scrap, which can make this inventory management strategy difficult to achieve. Continued successful implementation of our raw material strategy, including key investments in DRI production, coupled with the scrap brokerage and processing services performed by our team at DJJ, give us greater control over our metallic inputs and thus also helps us to mitigate this risk.
During periods of stronger or improving steel market conditions, we are more likely to be able to pass through to our customers, relatively quickly, the increased costs of ferrous scrap and scrap substitutes, protecting our gross margins from significant erosion. During weaker or rapidly deteriorating steel market conditions, weak steel demand, low industry utilization rates and the impact of imports create an even more intensified competitive environment and increased pricing pressure. All of those factors, to some degree, impact pricing, which increases the likelihood that Nucor will experience lower gross margins.
Although the majority of our steel sales are to spot market customers in North America who place their orders each month based on their business needs and our pricing competitiveness compared to both domestic and global producers and trading companies, we also sell contract tons, most notably in our sheet operations. Approximately 70% of our sheet sales were to contract customers in 2020 (75% in 2019), with the balance being sold in the spot market at the prevailing prices at the time of sale. Steel contract sales outside of our sheet operations are not significant. The amount of tons sold to contract customers at any given time depends on the overall market conditions at the time, how the end-use customers see the market moving forward and the strategy that Nucor management believes is appropriate to the upcoming period.
Nucor management considerations include maintaining an appropriate balance of spot and contract tons based on market projections and appropriately supporting our diversified customer base. The percentage of tons that is placed under contract also depends on the overall market dynamics and customer negotiations. In years of strengthening demand, we typically see an increase in the percentage of sheet sales sold under contract as our customers have an expectation that transaction prices will rapidly rise, and available capacity will quickly be sold out. To mitigate this risk, customers prefer to enter into contracts in order to obtain committed volumes of supply from the mills. The vast majority of our contracts include a method of adjusting prices on a periodic basis to reflect changes in the market pricing for steel and/or scrap. Market indices for steel generally trend with scrap pricing changes, but, during periods of steel market weakness, the more intensified competitive steel market environment can cause the sales price indices to decrease resulting in reduced gross margins and profitability. Furthermore, since the selling price adjustments are not immediate, there will always be a timing difference between changes in the prices we pay for raw materials and the adjustments we make to our contract selling prices. Generally, in periods of increasing scrap prices, we experience a short-term margin contraction on
contract tons. Conversely, in periods of decreasing scrap prices, we typically experience a short-term margin expansion. Contract sales typically have terms ranging from six to 12 months.
Our Strengths and Opportunities
We are North America’s most diversified steel producer. As a result, our short-term performance is not tied to any one market. We have numerous, large, strategic capital projects at various stages of progress that we believe will help us further diversify our product offerings and expand the markets that we serve. We expect these investments to grow our long-term earnings power by increasing our channels to market, expanding our product portfolio into higher value-added offerings that are less vulnerable to imports, improving our cost structure and further building upon our market leadership positions.
We believe that Nucor’s raw material supply chain is another important strength. Our investment in DRI production facilities and scrap brokerage and processing businesses provides Nucor with significant flexibility in optimizing our raw materials costs. Additionally, having a significant portion of our raw materials supply under our control reduces risk associated with the global sourcing of raw materials, particularly since a considerable portion of scrap substitutes comes from regions of the world that historically have experienced greater political turmoil.
Our highly variable, low-cost structure, combined with our financial strength and liquidity, has allowed us to successfully navigate cyclical, severely depressed steel industry market conditions in the past. In such times, our incentive-based pay system reduces our payroll costs, both hourly and salary, which helps to offset lower selling prices. Our pay-for-performance system that is closely tied to our levels of production also allows us to keep our highly experienced workforce intact and to continue operating our facilities when some of our competitors with greater fixed costs are forced to shut down some of their facilities. Because we use EAFs to produce our steel, we can easily vary our production levels to match short-term changes in demand, unlike our blast furnace-based integrated competitors. We believe these strengths also provide us further opportunities to gain market share during such times.
Evaluating Our Operating Performance
We report our results of operations in three segments: steel mills, steel products and raw materials. Most of the steel we produce in our mills is sold to outside customers (80% in both 2020 and 2019), but a significant percentage is used internally by many of the facilities in our steel products segment (20% in both 2020 and 2019).
We begin measuring our performance by comparing our net sales, both in total and by individual segment, during a reporting period with our net sales in the corresponding period in the prior year. In doing so, we focus on changes in and the reasons for such changes in the two key variables that have the greatest influence on our net sales: average sales price per ton during the period and total tons shipped to outside customers.
We also focus on both dollar and percentage changes in gross margins, which are key drivers of our profitability, and the reasons for such changes. There are many factors from period to period that can affect our gross margins. One consistent area of focus for us is changes in “metal margins,” which is the difference between the selling price of steel and the cost of scrap and scrap substitutes. Increases or decreases in the cost of scrap and scrap substitutes that are not offset by changes in the selling price of steel can quickly compress or expand our margins and reduce or increase our profitability.
Changes in marketing, administrative and other expenses, particularly profit sharing and other variable incentive-based payment costs, can have a material effect on our results of operations for a reporting period as well. These costs vary significantly from period to period as they are based upon changes in our pre-tax earnings and other profitability metrics that are a reflection of our pay-for-performance system that is closely tied to our levels of production.
Evaluating Our Financial Condition
We evaluate our financial condition each reporting period by focusing primarily on the amounts of and reasons for changes in cash provided by operating activities, our current ratio, the turnover rate of our accounts receivable and inventories, the amounts of and reasons for changes in cash used in or provided by investing activities (including projected capital expenditures) and financing activities and our cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments position at period end. We believe that our conservative financial practices have served us well in the past and are serving us well today. As a result, our financial position remains strong.
Comparison of 2020 to 2019
Results of Operations
Nucor reported consolidated net earnings of $2.36 per diluted share in 2020 and $4.14 per diluted share in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic and the impacts it had on the domestic economy were the primary factor driving the decrease in earnings in 2020 as compared to 2019.
In 2019, the steel mills segment’s profitability peaked in the first quarter and experienced a downward trend for the remainder of the year primarily due to inventory destocking. The first quarter of 2020 was off to a promising start for the steel mills segment, building off of the momentum of price increases announced in the fourth quarter of 2019 and a strong quarterly utilization rate of 89%. The first quarter of 2020 ended with the rapidly intensifying impact of the COVID-19 pandemic beginning to impact our business late in the quarter. We also determined a triggering event occurred related to our equity method investment located in Italy, Duferdofin Nucor S.r.l. (“Duferdofin Nucor”), that would result in us reserving a note receivable and a significant impairment charge in the first quarter of 2020. We ultimately exited our investment in Duferdofin Nucor prior to the end of the year. Total losses and impairments of assets related to Duferdofin Nucor that were included in the steel mills segment earnings were approximately $483.5 million in 2020. We also recorded additional impairment charges in the fourth quarter of 2020 related to certain inventory and long-lived assets of $103.2 million that were primarily related to our Castrip sheet operations.
The steel mills segment performance bottomed in the second quarter of 2020 but had an upward trajectory for the remainder of the year. Our steel mills segment is expected to have a very strong first quarter of 2021 due to increases in steel selling prices and strengthening market conditions at the end of 2020.
Nonresidential construction market conditions were strong in 2019 and 2020.The resiliency of nonresidential construction markets during the COVID-19 pandemic paved the way for our steel products segment to have record profitability in 2020, surpassing the previous record set in 2019. Many of our business units in this segment performed at record or near-record levels, with our rebar fabrication and tubular products businesses driving the year-over-year increase for the segment. In addition to the strength of nonresidential construction markets over the last two years, the steel products segment continues to benefit from the lasting effects of changes in business strategy and efficiency initiatives that have significantly improved the performance of our rebar fabrication operations and metal buildings business.
The raw materials segment’s profitability in 2020 increased from 2019 primarily due to the improved performance of our DRI facilities. Our DRI facility in Louisiana experienced a planned 70-day outage in 2019 to enhance operational reliability, and the facility set new records for production, shipping and operating hours in 2020. Low average selling prices and higher iron ore costs have caused the DRI facilities to have combined operating losses in 2020 and 2019. However, selling prices for raw materials increased dramatically in the fourth quarter of 2020 and we expect strong performance for the raw materials segment in the first quarter of 2021.
The raw materials segment incurred non-cash impairment charges of $27.0 million and $35.0 million in 2020 and 2019, respectively. The 2020 charges related to our leasehold interest in unproved oil and gas properties and the 2019 charges related to our proved oil and gas properties. Refer to “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates” for further discussion of these charges.
Nucor’s income tax provision in 2020 benefited from several notable items that are not included in segment reporting. Of note, the 2020 tax provision benefited from $201.9 million related to certain tax deductions claimed related to our now exited investment in Duferdofin Nucor, $39.7 million related to certain state tax credits and $48.2 million related to the anticipated carryback of a 2020 tax net operating loss under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”).
The following discussion will provide greater quantitative and qualitative analysis of Nucor’s performance in 2020 as compared to 2019.
Net Sales
Net sales to external customers by segment for 2020 and 2019 were as follows (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||
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| 2020 | 2019 | % Change | ||||
| Steel mills | $12,109,307 | $13,933,950 | -13% | |||
| Steel products | 6,623,068 | 6,990,064 | -5% | |||
| Raw materials | 1,407,283 | 1,664,844 | -15% | |||
| Total net sales to external customers | $20,139,658 | $22,588,858 | -11% |
Net sales for 2020 decreased 11% from the prior year. Average sales price per ton decreased 7% from $851 in 2019 to $789 in 2020. Total tons shipped to outside customers decreased 4% from 26,532,000 tons in 2019 to 25,519,000 in 2020.
In the steel mills segment, sales tons were as follows (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||
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| 2020 | 2019 | % Change | ||||
| Outside steel shipments | 18,049 | 18,585 | -3% | |||
| Inside steel shipments | 4,637 | 4,771 | -3% | |||
| Total steel shipments | 22,686 | 23,356 | -3% |
Net sales for the steel mills segment decreased 13% in 2020 from the prior year due to a 10% decrease in the average sales price per ton, from $748 in 2019 to $671 in 2020, as well as a 3% decrease in total tons shipped to outside customers.
Outside sales tonnage for the steel products segment was as follows (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||
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| 2020 | 2019 | % Change | ||||
| Joist sales | 557 | 499 | 12% | |||
| Deck sales | 496 | 495 | — | |||
| Cold finished sales | 406 | 498 | -18% | |||
| Rebar fabrication sales | 1,232 | 1,223 | 1% | |||
| Piling products sales | 649 | 638 | 2% | |||
| Tubular products sales | 1,080 | 1,053 | 3% | |||
| Other steel products sales | 374 | 408 | -8% | |||
| Total steel products sales | 4,794 | 4,814 | — |
Net sales for the steel products segment decreased 5% in 2020 from the prior year due to a 5% decrease in average sales price per ton.
Net sales for the raw materials segment decreased 15% in 2020 from the prior year primarily due to decreased average selling prices at DJJ’s brokerage operations and decreased volumes at DJJ’s scrap processing operations and brokerage operations. In 2020, approximately 88% of outside sales for the raw
materials segment were from the brokerage operations of DJJ, and approximately 9% of outside sales were from the scrap processing operations of DJJ (90% and 9%, respectively, in 2019).
Gross Margins
In 2020, Nucor recorded gross margins of $2.23 billion (11%) which was a decrease from $2.68 billion (12%) in 2019:
| • | The primary driver for the decrease in gross margin in 2020 as compared to 2019 was decreased metal margins in the steel mills segment. Metal margin is the difference between the selling price of steel and the cost of scrap and scrap substitutes. The average scrap and scrap substitute cost per gross ton used decreased 8% from $314 in 2019 to $290 in 2019. Despite the decrease in average scrap and scrap substitute cost per gross ton used, metal margin in the steel mills segment decreased due to lower average selling prices across all steel mill businesses. |
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Scrap prices are driven by the global supply and demand for scrap and other iron-based raw materials used to make steel. Scrap prices decreased during most of 2020 but began to rapidly increase late in the year. As we enter 2021, we see downward pressure on scrap prices in the near term that we believe is likely to stabilize and follow a more typical seasonal pattern during the remainder of the year.
| • | Pre-operating and start-up costs of new facilities decreased to approximately $101 million in 2020 as compared to approximately $103 million in 2019. Pre-operating and start-up costs in 2020 primarily related to the bar mills being built in Missouri and Florida, the plate mill being built in Kentucky, the sheet mill expansion in Kentucky and the merchant bar quality mill expansion at our bar mill in Illinois. In 2019, pre-operating and start-up costs primarily related to the bar mills being built in Missouri and Florida, the expansion at our sheet mill in Kentucky and the upgrades at our Louisiana DRI facility. Nucor defines pre-operating and start-up costs, all of which are expensed, as the losses attributable to facilities or major projects that are either under construction or in the early stages of operation. Once these facilities or projects have attained a utilization rate that is consistent with our similar operating facilities, they are no longer considered by Nucor to be in start-up. |
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| • | Gross margins in the steel products segment for 2020 increased as compared to 2019 primarily due to the increased profitability of our rebar fabrication and tubular products businesses which were partially offset by the decreased profitability of our building systems and cold finish operations. |
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| • | Gross margins in the raw materials segment for 2020 increased as compared to 2019 primarily due to the improved performance of our DRI facilities that resulted in lower losses. |
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Gross margins related to DJJ’s brokerage operations decreased in 2020 as compared to 2019 due to margin compression and decreased volumes. Gross margins for DJJ’s scrap processing operations slightly increased in 2020.
Marketing, Administrative and Other Expenses
A major component of marketing, administrative and other expenses is profit sharing and other incentive compensation costs. These costs, which are based upon and fluctuate with Nucor’s financial performance, decreased from 2019 to 2020 due to our decreased profitability in 2020. In 2020, profit sharing costs consisted of $86.6 million of contributions, including the Company’s matching contribution, made to the Company’s Profit Sharing and Retirement Savings Plan for qualified employees ($181.4 million in 2019). Other employee bonus costs also fluctuate based on Nucor’s achievement of certain financial performance goals, including achieving record earnings, and comparisons of Nucor’s financial performance to peers in the steel industry and other companies. Stock-based compensation included in marketing, administrative and other expenses decreased by 21% to $29.2 million in 2020 compared with $36.9 million in 2019 and includes costs associated with vesting of stock awards granted in prior years.
Included in marketing, administrative and other expenses in 2020 was $18.2 million of restructuring charges related to the realignment of Nucor’s metal buildings business in the steel products segment.
Included in marketing, administrative and other expenses in 2019 was a benefit of $33.7 million related to the gain on the sale of an equity method investment in the raw materials segment.
Equity in Losses (Earnings) of Unconsolidated Affiliates
Equity method investment losses and (earnings) were $10.5 million in 2020 and $(3.3) million in 2019. The decrease in equity method investment earnings from 2019 to 2020 was primarily due to the decreased results of Nucor-JFE and NuMit. Losses and Impairments of Assets
During the fourth quarter of 2019, Nucor performed an impairment analysis of its three fields of proved producing natural gas well assets and determined that the carrying amount of one of the fields of wells exceeded its fair value and the impairment condition was considered to be other than temporary. This field of wells was not impaired as a result of the analysis performed in 2018. Nucor recorded a $35.0 million non-cash impairment charge against this field of wells, driven primarily by estimated lease operating costs that were higher than the estimates used in the 2018 analysis. These charges were included in the raw materials segment. See Note 7 to the Company’s consolidated financial statements for additional information.
Nucor recorded additional impairment charges in 2019 of $20.0 million related to certain property, plant and equipment in the steel mills segment, and $11.9 million related to the write-down of certain intangible assets in the steel products segment.
In 2020, Nucor recorded losses on assets of $483.5 million related to our equity method investment in Duferdofin Nucor. Nucor also recorded impairment charges in 2020 of $103.2 million related to certain inventory and long-lived assets in the steel mills segment, and $27.0 million related to the write-down of our unproved natural gas well assets included in the raw materials segment.
Interest Expense (Income)
Net interest expense is detailed below (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||
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| 2020 | 2019 | |||||||
| Interest expense | $ | 166,613 | $ | 157,358 | ||||
| Interest income | (13,415 | ) | (35,933 | ) | ||||
| Interest expense, net | $ | 153,198 | $ | 121,425 |
Interest expense increased in 2020 compared to 2019 due to a higher average outstanding debt balance. Interest income decreased in 2020 compared to 2019 due to significantly lower average interest rates on investments.
Earnings (Loss) Before Income Taxes and Noncontrolling Interests
The following table presents earnings (loss) before income taxes and noncontrolling interests by segment for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 (in thousands). The change between periods were driven by the quantitative and qualitative factors previously discussed.
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||
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| 2020 | 2019 | |||||||
| Steel mills | $ | 720,151 | $ | 1,790,694 | ||||
| Steel products | 690,547 | 511,145 | ||||||
| Raw materials | 23,621 | (28,244 | ) | |||||
| Corporate/eliminations | (598,781 | ) | (490,788 | ) | ||||
| Earnings before income taxes and noncontrolling interests | $ | 835,538 | $ | 1,782,807 |
Noncontrolling Interests
Noncontrolling interests represent the income attributable to the noncontrolling partners of Nucor’s joint ventures, primarily Nucor–Yamato, of which Nucor owns 51%. The 15% increase in earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests in 2020 as compared to 2019 was primarily due to the increased earnings of Nucor–Yamato. Under the Nucor–Yamato limited partnership agreement, the minimum amount of cash to be distributed each year to the partners is the amount needed by each partner to pay applicable U.S. federal and state income taxes. In 2020, the amount of cash distributed to noncontrolling interest holders exceeded the earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests based on mutual agreement of the general partners; however, the cumulative amount of cash distributed to partners was less than the cumulative net earnings of the partnership.
Provision for Income Taxes
The Company’s effective tax rate in 2020 was -0.06% compared with 23.1% in 2019. The decrease in the effective tax rate was primarily due to a net tax benefit of $201.9 million (-24.16%) for a tax loss on our investment in Duferdofin Nucor, a net tax benefit of $45.2 million (-5.41%) for state tax credits, and a federal tax benefit of $48.2 million (-5.77%) for the carryback of a federal tax net operating loss (an “NOL”) under the CARES Act. These benefits were all recognized in 2020 and were somewhat offset by the rate impact (11.2%) of financial statement impairments of $445.6 million which did not affect the provision for income taxes. The CARES Act allows for an NOL generated in 2020 to be carried back to taxable years where the federal income tax rate was 35%. The difference in the tax rate in 2020 and tax years before the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 is the main driver of the federal tax NOL benefit in 2020, but this is somewhat offset by the partial loss of the domestic manufacturing deduction in the carryback year.
Nucor has concluded U.S. federal income tax matters for tax years through 2014 and for tax year 2016. The tax years 2015 and 2017 through 2019 remain open to examination by the Internal Revenue Service. The 2015 Canadian income tax returns for Harris Steel Group Inc. and certain related affiliates are currently under examination by the Canada Revenue Agency. The tax years 2014 through 2019 remain open to examination by other major taxing jurisdictions to which Nucor is subject (primarily Canada and other state and local jurisdictions).
Net Earnings and Return on Equity
Nucor reported net earnings of $721.5 million, or $2.36 per diluted share, in 2020, compared to net earnings of $1.27 billion, or $4.14 per diluted share, in 2019. Net earnings attributable to Nucor stockholders as a percentage of net sales were 3.6% and 5.6% in 2020 and 2019, respectively. Return on average stockholders’ equity was 6.8% and 12.6% in 2020 and 2019, respectively.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the significant uncertainty it had on Nucor and our stakeholders, we instituted enterprise-wide efforts to enhance our liquidity and support our teammates, which include, among other things:
| • | Capital Expenditures – We began the year with a capital expenditures budget of $2.00 billion. We reviewed our capital expenditures budget and decided to delay certain capital projects that had not begun, briefly paused a few of our larger projects and continued with certain projects that were either close to completion or where work had been scheduled. As a result, our total capital expenditures in 2020 was $1.54 billion. Our 2021 capital expenditures estimate is approximately $2.00 billion. |
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| • | Working Capital – Our net working capital position has contracted to provide a source of incremental liquidity while business activity has slowed. In addition, we are maintaining reduced raw material inventory levels in line with our anticipated near-term production requirements, a change we believe is sustainable and intend to maintain throughout 2021. |
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| • | Pay & Benefits – Almost all of our compensation plans are heavily weighted toward incentive compensation which rewards productivity and profitability. We implemented a temporary compensation floor for production and non-production hourly teammates and committed to offering at least their normal benefits during the crisis. Nucor’s executive compensation program intentionally sets base salaries below the market median for similar size industrial and materials companies. With lower profitability in 2020 as compared to the prior year, our executive leadership incurred a reduction in earned incentive compensation on an absolute dollar and percentage basis compared to compensation attributable to 2019 performance. |
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Nucor’s cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments and restricted cash and cash equivalents position remained strong at $3.16 billion at December 31, 2020, compared with $1.83 billion as of December 31, 2019. Approximately $316.0 million and $354.4 million of the cash and cash equivalents position at December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, was held by our majority-owned joint ventures. Cash flows provided by operating activities provide us with a significant source of liquidity. When needed, we have external short-term financing sources available, including the issuance of commercial paper and borrowings under our bank credit facilities.
We also issue long-term debt securities from time to time. To further enhance our liquidity, Nucor took advantage of attractive market conditions during the second quarter of 2020 to issue low coupon debt in the form of long-term notes. In May, Nucor issued $500.0 million of 2.000% Notes due 2025 and $500.0 million of 2.700% Notes due 2030. Additionally, in July, Nucor became an obligor with respect to $162.6 million in 40-year variable-rate Green Bonds to partially fund the capital costs associated with the construction of our plate mill located in Brandenburg, Kentucky. Proceeds of the Green Bonds are held on Nucor’s balance sheet as restricted cash and cash equivalents until they are utilized in connection with the construction of the plate mill in Brandenburg, Kentucky.
In December 2020, Nucor exchanged $106.7 million of its 6.400% Notes due 2037, $161.9 million of its 5.200% Notes due 2043 and $170.8 million of its 4.400% Notes due 2048 with holders of the existing notes for $439.3 million of its 2.979% Notes due 2055 and a cash component of $180.3 million. This exchange transaction has been accounted for as a modification and, as such, the cash component of $180.3 million has been capitalized as a reduction of long-term debt and is being amortized into interest expense over the life of the new notes.
Nucor’s $1.50 billion revolving credit facility is undrawn and was amended and restated in April 2018 to extend the maturity date to April 2023. We believe our financial strength is a key strategic advantage among domestic steel producers, particularly during recessionary business cycles. We carry the highest credit ratings of any steel producer headquartered in North America, with an A- long-term rating from Standard and Poor’s and a Baa1 long-term rating from Moody’s. Our credit ratings are dependent, however, upon a number of factors, both qualitative and quantitative, and are subject to change at any time. The disclosure of our credit ratings is made in order to enhance investors’ understanding of our sources of liquidity and the impact of our credit ratings on our cost of funds. Based upon the preceding factors, we expect to continue to have adequate access to the capital markets at a reasonable cost of funds for liquidity purposes when needed**.**
Selected Measures of Liquidity and Capital Resources
| (Dollars in thousands) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 31, | ||||||||
| 2020 | 2019 | |||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 2,639,671 | $ | 1,534,605 | ||||
| Short-term investments | 408,004 | 300,040 | ||||||
| Restriced cash and cash equivalents | 115,258 | — | ||||||
| Working capital | 6,860,802 | 5,762,596 | ||||||
| Current ratio | 3.6 | 3.3 |
The current ratio, which is calculated by dividing current assets by current liabilities, was 3.6 at year-end 2020 compared with 3.3 at year-end 2019. The current ratio was positively impacted by the 66% increase in cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments. The increase in cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments was a result of the issuance of $500.0 million of 2.000% Notes
due 2025 and $500.0 million of 2.700% Notes due 2030 and robust cash provided by operations during 2020.
In 2020, total accounts receivable turned approximately every six weeks and inventories turned approximately every 11 weeks. These ratios compare with accounts receivable turnover of approximately every five weeks and inventory turnover of approximately every 11 weeks in 2019.
Funds provided by operations, cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments, restricted cash and cash equivalents and new borrowings under existing credit facilities are expected to be adequate to meet future capital expenditure and working capital requirements for existing operations for at least the next 24 months. Additionally, Nucor has no significant debt maturities until September 2022.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We have a simple capital structure with no off-balance sheet arrangements or relationships with unconsolidated special purpose entities that we believe could have a material impact on our financial condition or liquidity.
Capital Allocation Strategy
We believe that our conservative financial practices have served us well in the past and are serving us well today. Nucor’s financial strength allows for a consistent, balanced approach to capital allocation throughout the business cycle. Nucor’s highest capital allocation priority is to reinvest in our business to ensure our continued profitable growth over the long term. We have historically done this by investing to optimize our existing operations, initiate greenfield expansions and make acquisitions. Our second priority is to return capital to our stockholders through cash dividends and share repurchases. We intend to return a minimum of 40% of our net earnings to our stockholders, while maintaining a debt-to-capital ratio that supports a strong investment grade credit rating. The Company repurchased $39.5 million of shares of its common stock in 2020 ($298.5 million in 2019 and $854.0 million in 2018).
Operating Activities
Cash provided by operating activities was $2.70 billion in 2020 as compared to $2.81 billion in 2019. Net earnings declined by $534.9 million over the prior year, which included $613.6 million of non-cash losses and impairments of assets related to our equity method investment in Duferdofin Nucor, impairment of certain inventory and long-lived assets in the steel mills segment and a write-down of our unproved natural gas well assets in the raw materials segment ($66.9 million of non-cash losses and impairments of assets in 2019). Additionally, the decrease in cash provided by operating activities was driven by the $209.3 million reduction of cash provided by operating assets and operating liabilities. Changes in operating assets and operating liabilities (exclusive of acquisitions and dispositions) provided cash of $204.0 million in 2020 as compared to $413.3 million in 2019. The funding of working capital increased in 2020 over the prior year mainly due to increases in accounts receivable and a more moderate decrease in inventory from year-end 2019 to the end of 2020 as compared to the same prior year period, offset by an increase in accounts payable and a more moderate cash outflow related to salaries, wages and related accruals. Accounts receivable at the end of 2020 increased from prior year-end due to a 2.5% increase in composite sales price. From year-end 2019 to year-end 2020, inventories decreased by $273.0 million due to a 13% decrease in inventory tons, as compared to inventories decreasing by $711.4 million due to a 22% decline in average scrap and scrap substitutes cost per ton in inventory and a 9% decline in total inventory tons on hand in the prior year period. Inventory tons reduction, especially scrap, was a particular focus due to uncertainty from the COVID-19 pandemic beginning in the second quarter of 2020, and our investment in inventory at the end of 2020 continued to decline from prior quarter-end levels. Accounts payable increased due to the increase in average scrap and scrap substitute cost per ton mentioned previously. Finally, the decrease in cash used to fund salaries, wages and related accruals in 2020 as compared to 2019 was due to the timing of incentive compensation payments and lower current year profit sharing accruals due to the decreased profitability of the Company. The 2019 payments were based on Nucor’s financial performance in 2018, which was a record earnings year.
Investing Activities
Our business is capital intensive; therefore, cash used in investing activities primarily represents capital expenditures for new facilities, the expansion and upgrading of existing facilities and the acquisition of other companies. Cash used in investing activities in 2020 was $1.76 billion as compared to $1.79 billion in 2019. Cash used for capital expenditures was relatively flat from the prior year, $1.54 billion in 2020 as opposed to $1.48 billion in 2019. The primary drivers of capital expenditures were related to the sheet mill expansion at Nucor Steel Gallatin, the flex galvanizing line at Nucor Steel Arkansas, the new micro mill greenfield expansion in Frostproof, Florida, and the new plate mill in Brandenburg, Kentucky. Also impacting cash used in investing activities in 2020 was the purchase of $488.5 million of investments, as opposed to $367.7 million in the prior year. These purchases were partially offset by proceeds from the sale of investments of $392.2 million in 2020 and $67.7 million in 2019. Additionally, 2019 benefited from cash provided by the divestiture of an affiliate of $67.6 million related to the sale of an equity method investment.
Financing Activities
Cash provided by financing activities during 2020 was $285.9 million as compared to cash used in financing activities of $880.4 million in 2019. The majority of this change related to the debt issuance discussed previously, as well as Nucor becoming an obligor with respect to $162.6 million in 40-year variable rate Green Bonds to partially fund the capital costs associated with the construction of our plate mill located in Brandenburg, Kentucky. There were also approximately $39.5 million of stock repurchases in 2020, all in the first quarter, as compared to $298.5 million in 2019. In addition, in the fourth quarter of 2020, $180.4 million of cash was used for payment of premiums on the debt exchange where Nucor issued $439.2 million of its new 2.979% Notes due 2055 in exchange for certain of its existing notes. Finally, in the first quarter of 2020, one of the remarketing agents for Nucor’s industrial development revenue bonds (“IDRBs”) put a portion of two bonds to us, resulting in repayment of $32.0 million in long-term debt. We subsequently remarketed the bonds and received $32.0 million in proceeds. Nucor’s IDRBs are variable-rate, tax-exempt bonds which have interest rates that reset on a weekly basis through an ongoing remarketing process. We expect our bonds to be successfully placed with investors at the market driven rates in the future. However, there have been times in severe economic downturns, as was the case during the first quarter of 2020 as a result of the economic impacts of COVID-19, that a remarketing agent is unable to remarket Nucor’s bonds successfully and is unwilling to temporarily hold the bonds. In that situation, which has been rare in our experience, it is possible that the bonds could be put back to us in the future. In this instance during the first quarter of 2020, the IDRBs were remarketed successfully in a short period of time. However, in the event of a prolonged failed remarketing, we have, among other options, availability under our $1.50 billion revolving credit facility to repurchase the IDRBs until they are remarketed successfully. In general, Nucor has the ability and intent to refinance the IDRB debt on a long-term basis, therefore we classify the IDRBs as a long-term liability. The remaining $65.2 million of debt that was repaid during 2020 was related to a different tranche of Nucor’s IDRBs that was repurchased as part of our investment strategy and the payoff of a series of IDRBs that matured during the third quarter.
Our undrawn revolving credit facility includes only one financial covenant, which is a limit of 60% on the ratio of funded debt to total capitalization. In addition, the undrawn revolving credit facility contains customary non-financial covenants, including a limit on Nucor’s ability to pledge the Company’s assets and a limit on consolidations, mergers and sales of assets. Our funded debt to total capital ratio was 32% at the end of 2020 and 29% at the end of 2019, and we were in compliance with all other covenants under our undrawn revolving credit facility at the end of 2020.
Market Risk
Nucor’s largest exposure to market risk is in our steel mills and steel products segments. Our utilization rates for the steel mills and steel products facilities for the fourth quarter of 2020 were 87% and 71%, respectively. A significant portion of our steel mills and steel products segments’ sales are into the commercial, industrial and municipal construction markets. Our largest single customer in 2020 represented less than 5% of sales and consistently pays within terms. In the raw materials segment, we are exposed to price fluctuations related to the purchase of scrap steel, pig iron and iron ore. Our exposure to market risk is mitigated by the fact that our steel mills use a significant portion of the products of this segment.
Nucor’s tax-exempt IDRBs have variable interest rates that are adjusted weekly. These IDRBs represented 22% of Nucor’s long-term debt outstanding at December 31, 2020. The remaining 78% of Nucor’s long-term debt is at fixed rates. Future changes in interest rates are not expected to significantly impact earnings. From time to time, Nucor makes use of interest rate swaps to manage interest rate risk. As of December 31, 2020, there were no such contracts outstanding. Nucor’s investment practice is to invest in securities that are highly liquid with short maturities. As a result, we do not expect changes in interest rates to have a significant impact on the value of our investment securities recorded as short-term investments.
Nucor also uses derivative financial instruments from time to time to partially manage its exposure to price risk related to purchases of natural gas used in the production process, as well as scrap, copper and aluminum purchased for resale to its customers. In addition, Nucor uses forward foreign exchange contracts from time to time to hedge cash flows associated with certain assets and liabilities, firm commitments and anticipated transactions. Nucor generally does not enter into derivative instruments for any purpose other than hedging the cash flows associated with specific volumes of commodities that will be purchased and processed or sold in future periods and hedging the exposures related to changes in the fair value of outstanding fixed-rate debt instruments and foreign currency transactions. Nucor recognizes all derivative instruments in the consolidated balance sheets at fair value.
The Company is exposed to foreign currency risk primarily through its operations in Canada and Mexico. We periodically use derivative contracts to mitigate the risk of currency fluctuations.
Dividends
Nucor has increased its base cash dividend every year since it began paying dividends in 1973. Nucor paid dividends of $1.61 per share in 2020, compared with $1.60 per share in 2019. In December 2019, the Board of Directors increased the regular quarterly cash dividend on Nucor’s common stock to $0.405 per share. Over the past 10 years, Nucor has returned approximately $6.00 billion in capital to its stockholders in the form of base dividends and share repurchases. In February 2021, the Board of Directors declared Nucor’s 192nd consecutive quarterly cash dividend of $0.405 per share payable on May 11, 2021 to stockholders of record on March 31, 2021.
Contractual Obligations and Other Commercial Commitments
The following table sets forth our contractual obligations and other commercial commitments as of December 31, 2020 for the periods presented (in thousands):
| Payments Due By Period | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contractual Obligations | Total | 2021 | 2022-2023 | 2024-2025 | 2026 and thereafter | |||||||||||||||
| Long-term debt | $ | 5,403,240 | $ | — | $ | 1,101,000 | $ | 500,000 | $ | 3,802,240 | ||||||||||
| Estimated interest on long-term debt (1) | 2,288,503 | 169,935 | 299,534 | 244,559 | 1,574,475 | |||||||||||||||
| Finance leases | 162,006 | 20,676 | 38,274 | 24,525 | 78,531 | |||||||||||||||
| Operating leases | 117,221 | 23,134 | 36,361 | 23,545 | 34,181 | |||||||||||||||
| Raw material purchase commitments (2) | 2,997,021 | 1,248,172 | 1,017,162 | 312,453 | 419,234 | |||||||||||||||
| Utility purchase commitments (2) | 803,562 | 274,186 | 206,959 | 120,594 | 201,823 | |||||||||||||||
| Other unconditional purchase obligations (3) | 1,058,932 | 1,041,822 | 9,463 | 3,159 | 4,488 | |||||||||||||||
| Other long-term obligations (4) | 488,618 | 322,553 | 34,052 | 2,283 | 129,730 | |||||||||||||||
| Total contractual obligations | $ | 13,319,103 | $ | 3,100,478 | $ | 2,742,805 | $ | 1,231,118 | $ | 6,244,702 |
| (1) | Interest is estimated using applicable rates at December 31, 2020 for Nucor’s outstanding fixed-rate and variable-rate debt. |
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| (2) | Nucor enters into contracts for the purchase of scrap and scrap substitutes, iron ore, electricity, natural gas, and other raw materials and related services. These contracts include multi-year commitments and minimum annual purchase requirements and are valued at prices in effect on December 31, 2020, or according to the contract |
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| language. These contracts are part of normal operations and are reflected in historical operating cash flow trends. We do not believe such commitments will adversely affect our liquidity position. |
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| (3) | Purchase obligations include commitments for capital expenditures on operating machinery and equipment. |
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| (4) | Other long-term obligations include amounts associated with Nucor’s early-retiree medical benefits, management compensation and guarantees. |
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Note: In addition to the amounts shown in the table above, $48.0 million of unrecognized tax benefits have been recorded as liabilities, and we are uncertain as to if or when such amounts may be settled. Related to these unrecognized tax benefits, we have also recorded a liability for potential penalties and interest of $12.0 million at December 31, 2020.
Outlook
In 2021, we will continue to take advantage of our position of strength to grow Nucor’s long-term earnings power and stockholder value by continuing to successfully focus on profitable growth strategies. We have invested significant capital over a broad range of strategic acquisitions and investments that we believe will further enhance our ability to: grow Nucor’s long-term earnings power by increasing our channels to market; expand our product portfolios into higher value-added offerings that are less vulnerable to imports; improve our highly variable low-cost structure; build upon our market leadership positions; and achieve commercial excellence. We are utilizing Nucor’s financial strength to execute on investment opportunities to further grow our long-term earnings capacity.
We expect Nucor’s earnings in the first quarter of 2021 to increase significantly as compared to the fourth quarter of 2020. We expect a very significant increase in earnings in the steel mills segment in the first quarter of 2021 as compared to the fourth quarter of 2020 (excluding the fourth quarter of 2020 impairment charges), due to price increases that were announced in the fourth quarter of 2020 and expected higher volumes. We expect the profitability of the steel products segment in the first quarter of 2021 to be similar to the fourth quarter of 2020. We expect the performance of the raw materials segment to significantly increase in the first quarter of 2021 as compared to the fourth quarter of 2020, due to an improvement in pricing for raw materials and the absence of the impairment charge related to our unproved natural gas assets taken in 2020.
As we begin 2021, we see key economic indicators rebounding and stable or improving market conditions in 23 of the 24 steel intensive end-use markets that we monitor. We believe that full year domestic steel demand will experience modest growth in 2021 as compared to 2020. Backlog volumes in both the steel mills and steel products segments were significantly higher at the end of 2020 compared to the end of 2019.
We are ever mindful of the threat of increases in imported steel stemming from the still significant excess foreign steel capacity. The Section 232 tariffs are having their intended impact by taking artificially low-cost foreign imports out of the U.S. market. Over the past decade, the steel industry has won several important trade cases that addressed unfairly traded imports prior to the imposition of the Section 232 tariffs. The cumulative impact of those trade case victories also took a sizeable amount of unfairly traded imports out of the market, and those duties will remain in the event the Section 232 tariffs are lifted.
We are committed to executing on the opportunities we see ahead to reward Nucor stockholders with very attractive long-term returns on their valuable capital invested in our company. Our industry-leading financial strength allows us to support investments in our facilities that we believe will enable us to generate increased profitability. In 2021, as we have in our past, we will allocate capital to investments that we believe will build our long-term earnings power. Capital expenditures are currently projected to be approximately $2.00 billion in 2021 and we will be very focused on ensuring that these investments generate appropriate returns.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America. The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at year end and the reported amount of revenues and expenses during the year. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates, including those related to the valuation allowances for receivables, the carrying value of non-current assets and reserves for environmental obligations and income taxes. Our estimates are based on historical experience and various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Accordingly, actual costs could differ materially from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. We believe the following critical accounting policies affect our significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.
Allowances for Doubtful Accounts
We maintain allowances for doubtful accounts for estimated losses resulting from the inability of our customers to make required payments. If the financial condition of our customers were to deteriorate, resulting in an impairment of their ability to make payments, additional allowances may be required.
Inventories
Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market. The Company records any amount required to reduce the carrying value of inventory to net realizable value as a charge to cost of products sold. Scrap and scrap substitute costs are a very significant component of the raw material, semi-finished and finished product inventory balances. The vast majority of the Company’s inventory is recorded on the first-in, first-out method. Production costs are applied to semi-finished and finished product inventory from the approximate period in which they are produced.
If steel selling prices were to decline in future quarters, write-downs of inventory could result. Specifically, the valuation of raw material inventories purchased during periods of peak market pricing would most likely be impacted. Low utilization rates at our steel mills or raw materials facilities could hinder our ability to work through high-priced scrap and scrap substitutes (particularly pig iron and iron ore), leading to period-end exposure when comparing carrying value to net realizable value.
Long-Lived Asset Impairments
We evaluate our property, plant and equipment and finite-lived intangible assets for potential impairment on an individual asset basis or at the lowest level asset grouping for which cash flows can be independently identified. Asset impairments are assessed whenever circumstances indicate that the carrying amounts of those productive assets could exceed their projected undiscounted cash flows. In developing estimated values for assets that we currently use in our operations, we utilize judgments and assumptions of future undiscounted cash flows that the assets will produce. When it is determined that an impairment exists, the related assets are written down to estimated fair market value.
Certain long-lived asset groupings were tested for impairment during the fourth quarter of 2020. Undiscounted cash flows for each asset grouping were estimated using management’s long-range estimates of market conditions associated with each asset grouping over the estimated useful life of the principal asset within the group. Our undiscounted cash flow analysis indicated that, other than the groupings discussed below, the tested long-lived asset groupings were recoverable as of December 31, 2020; however, if our projected cash flows are not realized, either because of an extended recessionary period or other unforeseen events, impairment charges may be required in future periods. A 13% decrease in the projected cash flows of each of our asset groupings would not result in an impairment.
Steel Mills Segment Asset Impairments
In 2019, Nucor recorded a non-cash impairment charge of $20.0 million related to certain property, plant and equipment at our plate mill in Texas. This charge is included in losses and impairments of assets in the consolidated statement of earnings for the year ended December 31, 2019.
In 2020, Nucor recorded non-cash impairment charges totaling $103.2 million related to certain inventory and long-lived assets, which primarily related to our Castrip sheet mill operations. Due to the advancements in the capabilities at our new cold mill and galvanizing line we have under construction at Nucor Steel Arkansas, we believe the value of the technology and process has diminished for Nucor. As such, the existing Castrip assets are not expected to be materially utilized going forward. These charges are included in losses and impairments of assets in the consolidated statement of earnings for the year ended December 31, 2020.
Raw Materials Segment Asset Impairments
In the third quarter of 2018, due to the deteriorating natural gas pricing environment at our sales point in the Piceance Basin, Nucor determined a triggering event had occurred and performed an impairment analysis that resulted in $110.0 million of non-cash impairment charges relating to two of its three groups (“fields”) of wells. In the fourth quarter of 2019, due to the deteriorating natural gas pricing environment at our sales point in the Piceance Basin as well as the decreased performance of the natural gas well assets, Nucor determined a triggering event had occurred and performed an impairment analysis on all three fields of wells. As a result of the fourth quarter of 2019 analysis, a $35.0 million non-cash impairment charge was recorded on the field of wells that was not previously impaired in the third quarter of 2018. An increase in the estimated lease operating cost projections was the primary factor in causing this field of wells to be impaired. The non-cash impairment charges are included in losses and impairments of assets in the consolidated statements of earnings for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018.
One of the main assumptions that most significantly affects the undiscounted cash flows determination is management’s estimate of future pricing of natural gas and natural gas liquids. The pricing used in the impairment assessments was developed by management based on projected natural gas market supply and demand dynamics, in conjunction with a review of projections by market analysts. Management also makes key estimates on the expected reserve levels and on the expected lease operating costs. The impairment assessments were performed on each of Nucor’s three fields of wells, with each field defined by common geographic location. The combined carrying value of the three fields of wells was $71.7 million at December 31, 2020 ($78.9 million at December 31, 2019).
Changes in the natural gas industry or a prolonged low-price environment beyond what had already been assumed in the assessments could cause management to revise the natural gas and natural gas liquids price assumptions, the estimated reserves or the estimated lease operating costs. Unfavorable revisions to these assumptions or estimates could possibly result in further impairment of some or all of the fields of proved well assets.
In 2020, regulatory authorities in Colorado adopted new rules that became effective January 2021. One of these rules increases drilling setback distances. In the fourth quarter of 2020, Nucor determined a triggering event had occurred, as we do not expect to be able to access the full extent of the resources in the ground, and performed an impairment analysis. As a result, Nucor recorded a $27.0 million non-cash impairment charge related to the write-down of our leasehold interest in unproved oil and gas properties. This charge is included in losses and impairments of assets in the consolidated statement of earnings for the year ended December 31, 2020.
Goodwill and Intangibles
Goodwill is tested annually for impairment and whenever events or circumstances change that would make it more likely than not that an impairment may have occurred. We perform our annual
impairment analysis as of the first day of the fourth quarter each year. The evaluation of impairment involves comparing the current estimated fair value of each reporting unit to the recorded value, including goodwill.
When appropriate, Nucor performs a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. For certain reporting units, it is necessary to perform a quantitative analysis. In these instances, a discounted cash flow model is used to determine the current estimated fair value of these reporting units. Significant assumptions used to determine the fair value of each reporting unit as part of our annual testing (and any required interim testing) include: (i) expected cash flow for the five-year period following the testing date (including market share, sales volumes and prices, raw materials and other costs to produce and estimated capital needs); (ii) an estimated terminal value using a terminal year growth rate determined based on the growth prospects of the reporting unit; (iii) a discount rate based on management’s best estimate of the after-tax weighted-average cost of capital; and (iv) a probability-weighted scenario approach by which varying cash flows are assigned to certain scenarios based on the likelihood of occurrence. Management considers historical and anticipated future results, general economic and market conditions, the impact of planned business and operational strategies and all available information at the time the fair values of its reporting units are estimated. Those estimates and judgments may or may not ultimately prove appropriate.
Our fourth quarter 2020 annual goodwill impairment analysis did not result in an impairment charge. Management does not believe that future impairment of these reporting units is probable. However, the performance of certain businesses that comprise our reporting units requires continued improvement. An increase of approximately 50 basis points in the discount rate, a critical assumption in which a minor change can have a significant impact on the estimated fair value, would not result in an impairment charge. See Note 8 to the Company’s consolidated financial statements for further discussion of the results of the Company’s 2020 annual goodwill impairment analysis.
Nucor will continue to monitor operating results within all reporting units throughout 2021 in an effort to determine if events and circumstances warrant further interim impairment testing. Otherwise, all reporting units will again be subject to the required annual qualitative and/or quantitative impairment test during our fourth quarter of 2021. Changes in the judgments and estimates underlying our analysis of goodwill for possible impairment, including expected future operating cash flows and discount rate, could decrease the estimated fair value of our reporting units in the future and could result in an impairment of goodwill.
Equity Method Investments
Investments in joint ventures in which Nucor shares control over the financial and operating decisions but in which Nucor is not the primary beneficiary are accounted for under the equity method. Each of the Company’s equity method investments is subject to a review for impairment if, and when, circumstances indicate that a decline in value below its carrying amount may have occurred. Examples of such circumstances include, but are not limited to, a significant deterioration in the earnings performance or business prospects of the investee; missed financial projections; a significant adverse change in the regulatory, tax, economic or technological environment of the investee; a significant adverse change in the general market condition of either the geographic area or the industry in which the investee operates; and recurring negative cash flows from operations. When management considers the decline to be other than temporary, the Company would write down the related investment to its estimated fair market value. An other-than-temporary decline in carrying value is determined to have occurred when, in management’s judgment, a decline in fair value below carrying value is of such length of time and/or severity that it is considered long-term.
In the event that an impairment review is necessary, we calculate the estimated fair value of our equity method investments using a probability-weighted multiple-scenario income approach. Management’s analysis includes three discounted cash flow scenarios (best case, base case and recessionary case), which contain forecasted near-term cash flows under each scenario. Generally, (i) the best case scenario contains estimates of future results ranging from slightly higher than recent operating performance to levels that are consistent with historical operating and financial performance; (ii) the base case scenario contains estimates of future results ranging from generally in line with recent operating performance to levels that are more conservative than historical operating and financial performance; and (iii) the recessionary case scenario contains estimates of future results which include limited growth resulting only from operational cost improvements and limited benefits of new higher-value product offerings. Management determines the probability that each cash flow scenario will come to fruition based
on the specific facts and circumstances of each of the preceding scenarios, with the base case typically receiving the majority of the weighting.
Key assumptions used to determine the fair value of our equity method investments include: (i) expected cash flow for the six-year period following the testing date (including market share, sales volumes and prices, costs to produce and estimated capital needs); (ii) an estimated terminal value using a terminal year growth rate determined based on the growth prospects of the investment; (iii) a discount rate based on management’s best estimate of the after-tax weighted-average cost of capital; and (iv) a probability-weighted scenario approach by which varying cash flows are assigned to certain scenarios based on the likelihood of occurrence. While the assumptions that most significantly affect the fair value determination include projected revenues, metal margins and discount rate, the assumptions are often interdependent, and no single factor predominates in determining the estimated fair value. Management considers historical and anticipated future results, general economic and market conditions, the impact of planned business and operational strategies and all available information at the time the fair values of its investments are estimated. Those estimates and judgments may or may not ultimately prove appropriate.
Nucor determined that a triggering event occurred in the first quarter of 2020 with respect to its equity method investment in Duferdofin Nucor due to adverse developments in the joint venture’s commercial outlook, which were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, all of which negatively impacted the joint venture’s strategic direction. After completing its impairment assessment, Nucor determined that the carrying amount exceeded its estimated fair value and the impairment condition was considered to be other than temporary. Therefore, Nucor recorded a $250.0 million impairment charge in the first quarter of 2020. The assumptions that most significantly affected the fair value determination included projected cash flows and the discount rate. The Company-specific inputs for measuring fair value are considered “Level 3” or unobservable inputs that are not corroborated by market data under applicable fair value authoritative guidance, as quoted market prices are not available.
Throughout 2020, additional capital contributions were made by the Company to Duferdofin Nucor that were immediately impaired. These additional capital contributions resulted in $5.0 million, $6.6 million and $25.4 million impairment charges against our investment in Duferdofin Nucor in the second, third and fourth quarters of 2020, respectively. Also, in the fourth quarter of 2020, Nucor reclassified into earnings, $158.6 million of cumulative foreign currency translation losses on our investment in Duferdofin Nucor. In 2020, total impairment charges, including the aforementioned note receivable, related to our investment in Duferdofin Nucor were approximately $483.5 million. These non-cash impairment charges are included in the steel mills segment and in losses and impairments of assets in the consolidated statement of earnings for the year ended December 31, 2020.
Environmental Remediation
We are subject to environmental laws and regulations established by federal, state and local authorities, and we make provisions for the estimated costs related to compliance. Undiscounted remediation liabilities are accrued based on estimates of known environmental exposures. The accruals are reviewed periodically and, as investigations and remediation proceed, adjustments are made as we believe are necessary. Our measurement of environmental liabilities is based on currently available facts, present laws and regulations and current technology.
Income Taxes
We utilize the liability method of accounting for income taxes. Under the liability method, deferred taxes are determined based on the temporary differences between the financial statement and tax basis of assets and liabilities using tax rates expected to be in effect during the years in which the basis differences reverse. A valuation allowance is recorded when it is more likely than not that some of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. We recognize the effect of income tax positions only if those positions are more likely than not of being sustained. Potential accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits within operations are recognized as a component of interest expense and other expenses.
Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements made in this report, or in other public filings, press releases, or other written or oral communications made by Nucor, which are not historical facts are forward-looking statements subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties which we expect will or may occur in the future and may impact our business, financial condition and results of operations. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “project,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “could” and similar expressions are intended to identify those forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect the Company’s best judgment based on current information, and, although we base these statements on circumstances that we believe to be reasonable when made, there can be no assurance that future events will not affect the accuracy of such forward-looking information. As such, the forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results may vary materially from the projected results and expectations discussed in this report. Factors that might cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: (1) competitive pressure on sales and pricing, including pressure from imports and substitute materials; (2) U.S. and foreign trade policies affecting steel imports or exports; (3) the sensitivity of the results of our operations to prevailing market steel prices and changes in the supply and cost of raw materials, including pig iron, iron ore and scrap steel; (4) the availability and cost of electricity and natural gas which could negatively affect our cost of steel production or result in a delay or cancellation of existing or future drilling within our natural gas drilling programs; (5) critical equipment failures and business interruptions; (6) market demand for steel products, which, in the case of many of our products, is driven by the level of nonresidential construction activity in the United States; (7) impairment in the recorded value of inventory, equity investments, fixed assets, goodwill or other long-lived assets; (8) uncertainties surrounding the global economy, including excess world capacity for steel production; (9) fluctuations in currency conversion rates; (10) significant changes in laws or government regulations affecting environmental compliance, including legislation and regulations that result in greater regulation of GHG emissions that could increase our energy costs and our capital expenditures and operating costs or cause one or more of our permits to be revoked or make it more difficult to obtain permit modifications; (11) the cyclical nature of the steel industry; (12) capital investments and their impact on our performance; (13) our safety performance; (14) the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; and (15) the risks discussed in Part I, “Item 1A. Risk Factors” of this report.
Caution should be taken not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements included in this report. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as may be required by law. In evaluating forward-looking statements, these risks and uncertainties should be considered, together with the other risks described from time to time in our reports and other filings with the SEC.
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