October 31, 2024 04:17 PM Eastern Daylight Time

PITTSBURGH--( BUSINESS WIRE )--United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) reported third quarter 2024 net earnings of $119 million, or $0.48 per diluted share. Adjusted net earnings was $140 million, or $0.56 per diluted share. This compares to third quarter 2023 net earnings of $299 million, or $1.20 per diluted share. Adjusted net earnings for the third quarter 2023 was $350 million, or $1.40 per diluted share.

Commenting on the Company’s third quarter performance, U. S. Steel President and Chief Executive Officer, David B. Burritt said, “Third quarter adjusted EBITDA of $319 million demonstrated resilience in our business model despite the weaker average selling prices experienced across our operating segments. The North American Flat-Rolled segment continued to benefit from a strong commercial strategy that leveraged a diverse product mix and a purposeful increase in contracted volumes across the end markets we serve. Our Mini Mill segment, which was impacted by softening market pricing, delivered 11% EBITDA margins when adjusting for $40 million in one-time start-up costs for strategic projects. USSE earnings benefited from a one-time favorable adjustment related to CO₂ allocations, which offset pressures from a challenging demand environment in Europe. Tubular earnings were weaker in the third quarter, as expected, reflecting lower benchmark prices.”

Commenting on the Company’s strategic initiatives, Burritt continued, “We are very pleased to announce that we achieved first coil at Big River 2 (“BR2”), with the Big River team expecting to begin shipments to customers during the fourth quarter. We are excited to highlight photos of BR2 in the investor presentation posted today on our website. Congratulations to the Big River team on safely delivering over $4 billion of growth capital investments, including the non-grain oriented (“NGO”) electrical steel line and the dual Galvalume^® / Galvanized coating line. Coupled with our enhanced commercial strategy and recent investments made in the North American Flat Rolled segment, we look forward to building upon our more resilient earnings with increasing free cash flow.”

Commenting on the Company’s transaction with Nippon Steel Corporation, Burritt noted, “We continue to work towards closing by year-end. Importantly, in September, the Board of Arbitration ruled in favor of U. S. Steel under our basic labor agreement. We are also pleased to see additional commitments from Nippon Steel, which will build upon the existing benefits including the transfer of technologies and further innovations from Nippon Steel's $500 million annual R&D spending, to further strengthen the merits of the transaction. We look forward to delivering these benefits to all of our stakeholders, especially to our hardworking men and women in the Mon Valley and Gary plants, where Nippon Steel has committed to invest at least $1.3 billion, increasing the total capital commitment to at least $2.7 billion."

Q4 2024 Outlook

We expect fourth quarter adjusted EBITDA in the range of $225 million and $275 million. Our North American Flat-Rolled segment results should decrease slightly, driven largely by lower lagging average selling price expectations for the quarter. We expect an improvement in Mini Mill segment results, even after accounting for $25 million of related start-up and one-time construction costs at BR2, reflecting an expected improvement in average selling prices. In Europe, results are expected to be lower given the absence of the positive CO₂ allocations and weak underlying demand and pricing conditions. Our Tubular segment results should be largely consistent with the third quarter.