News release

Steel Dynamics Reports Second Quarter 2012 Diluted Earnings Per Share of $0.20

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FORT WAYNE, INDIANA, July 23, 2012 / PRNewswire / Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ/GS: STLD) today announced second quarter net income of $44 million, or $0.20 per diluted share, on net sales of $1.9 billion. By comparison, prior year second quarter net income was $99 million, or $0.43 per diluted share, on net sales of $2.1 billion and sequential first quarter 2012 net income was $46 million, or $0.20 per diluted share, on net sales of $2.0 billion. In the first half of 2012 net income was $90 million, or $0.40 per diluted share, on net sales of $3.9 billion. By comparison, in the first half of 2011 net income was $205 million, or $0.89 per diluted share, on net sales of $4.1 billion.

“Overall steel demand remained steady in the second quarter with volumes increasing about 5 percent,” said Chief Executive Officer Mark Millett. “Stability in demand from the automotive, energy, construction equipment and agricultural sectors supported volumes. However, decreases in flat roll pricing related to both supply-side pressure caused by increased imports and increased domestic capacity, resulted in somewhat decreased margins as compared to both the first quarter of 2012 and certainly the second quarter of 2011—a timeframe when historically high margins were achieved.

“Our overall financial performance was commendable in this environment which continues to be a challenge, “stated Millett. “During the second quarter, we achieved stable sequential financial results in our steel and fabrication operations. However, earnings from our metals recycling operations were severely impacted as margins and volume fell. The ferrous scrap market was oversupplied as the export market weakened and demand decreased as U.S. steel mill utilization declined.”

Second Quarter Review

Aside from metals recycling and ferrous resources, second quarter volumes in each of the company’s operating platforms increased when compared to the sequential first quarter of 2012, while consolidated operating income decreased $16 million, or 13 percent. The decrease in sequential quarterly operating income was the result of weakness in both ferrous and nonferrous recycled metal margins. Ferrous metals spreads declined by approximately 10 percent in the second quarter 2012 compared to the first quarter of the year. Copper volumes declined and margins compressed as indexed copper prices decreased $0.33 per pound during the second quarter. Operating income for OmniSource was $5 million in the second quarter of 2012, a decrease of $20 million compared to the first quarter of 2012.

The company’s steel operations overall second quarter margins and operating income remained relatively consistent in comparison to first quarter 2012 quarterly results. The average selling price per ton shipped decreased $21 per ton to $854, and the average ferrous scrap cost per ton melted decreased $22. There was a change in sequential quarterly earnings mix as operating income attributable to sheet operations increased 12 percent based mostly on volume increases and long product operations decreased 10 percent based mostly on pricing declines. However, in spite of continued non-residential construction market weakness, the company’s fabrication operations reported positive quarterly operating income for the first time since the first half of 2009, based on increased volumes and better utilization of manpower brought on to support expanding backlogs.

The impact of losses from the company’s Minnesota operations on second quarter 2012 consolidated net income was $11 million (net of tax), or approximately $0.05 per diluted share, as compared to $8 million for the second quarter of 2011 and $10 million for the first quarter of 2012. Additional maintenance expenses were incurred during a planned five week outage in April and May 2012. The company made numerous equipment modifications to improve the percentage of time the plant is available to operate each month. After restarting, availability for the month of June increased to just over 80 percent—a significant improvement. This improvement supports the attainability of the target rate for plant availability of over 90 percent. Operating rates, or productivity, also showed improvement post outage. Operating at higher rates for longer periods of time has allowed for the identification of a number of key process optimization opportunities that are necessary for further improvement in both productivity and product quality. The company has identified several possible solutions which it is currently evaluating and intends to implement within the next twelve months, based on equipment delivery lead times and subsequent installation and startup.

The company’s iron concentrate facility in Minnesota is on schedule to begin supplying the nugget facility with lower-cost iron concentrate later in the third quarter of 2012, although higher priced third-party material remains in inventory for use through the remainder of the year. If commercial pig iron prices (the index used to determine the nugget sales price) do not decrease from current levels, second half 2012 losses associated with the company’s Minnesota operations could be similar to those recorded in the first half of the year.

The company’s liquidity position remains strong with $1.5 billion in unrestricted cash, short-term commercial paper and available funding under the revolving credit facility at June 30, 2012.

2011 Comparison

Despite increased volume, first half 2012 net sales of $3.9 billion were 5 percent less than those achieved in the first half of 2011 and operating income decreased 43 percent, as margins decreased within the company’s flat roll steel and metals recycling operations. During the first half of 2011 the industry recorded historically high flat roll and metals recycling margins which were not repeated during the first half of this year. The average selling price per ton shipped for the company’s steel operations in the first half of 2012 was $864, a decrease of $54 per ton compared to the same period last year. The average ferrous scrap cost per ton melted remained unchanged for the same comparative period.

Outlook

“Looking ahead,” Millett said, “we anticipate continued demand in such sectors as automotive, manufacturing, energy and construction equipment, while transportation and agriculture appears to be tempering. We believe order rates could be somewhat uneven throughout the third quarter, as fluctuations in immediate product needs and hesitancy for customers to carry inventory persists. Ferrous scrap pricing fell further in July, which could further challenge our metals recycling operations. We should see the benefit from these lower raw material costs for our steel operations early in the third quarter, but if the scrap market firms due to potential resumption in exports and mill buying, margins could moderate over the quarter. The U.S. and world economies remain challenging; although, we believe we are uniquely equipped to capitalize on the opportunities ahead, supported by our superior, low-cost, highly-variable cost structure, our diversified, value-added product mix, our vertical integration and our exceptional team of employees.”

Summary Operating Information

The following tables highlight operating results for each of the company’s primary operating platforms. References to operating income in the following paragraphs exclude profit-sharing expenses and amortization pertaining to intangible assets. Dollar amounts are in thousands, excluding per ton data.

Steel Operations

This segment includes five electric-arc-furnace steel mills and related steel finishing and processing facilities, including The Techs. The company’s steel operations produce flat-rolled steel, structural steel, merchant bars, special-bar-quality steel, rebar, rail, and specialty shapes.

Metals Recycling and Ferrous Resources

This segment principally includes the company’s metals recycling operations (OmniSource Corporation), a liquid pig iron production facility (Iron Dynamics), and the company’s Minnesota operations, which currently primarily includes an iron nugget manufacturing facility (Mesabi Nugget, which is 81 percent company-owned).

Steel Fabrication Operations

Steel fabrication operations include New Millennium Building Systems, which fabricates steel joists, trusses, and decking used in the construction of non-residential buildings.

About Steel Dynamics, Inc.

Steel Dynamics, Inc. is one of the largest domestic steel producers and metals recyclers in the United States based on estimated annual steelmaking and metals recycling capability, with annual sales of $8.0 billion in 2011, over 6,500 employees, and manufacturing facilities primarily located throughout the United States (including five steel mills, six steel processing facilities, two iron production facilities, over 70 metals recycling locations and six steel fabrication plants).

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains some predictive statements about future events, including statements related to conditions in the steel and metallic scrap markets, Steel Dynamics’ revenues, costs of purchased materials, future profitability and earnings, and the operation of new or existing facilities. These statements are intended to be made as “forward-looking,” subject to many risks and uncertainties, within the safe harbor protections of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements speak only as of this date and are based upon information and assumptions, which we consider reasonable as of this date, concerning our businesses and the environments in which they operate. Such predictive statements are not guarantees of future performance, and we undertake no duty to update or revise any such statements. Some factors that could cause such forward-looking statements to turn out differently than anticipated include: (1) the effects of a prolonged or deepening recession on industrial demand; (2) changes in economic conditions, either generally or in any of the steel or scrap-consuming sectors which affect demand for our products, including the strength of the non-residential and residential construction, automotive, appliance, and other steel-consuming industries; (3) fluctuations in the cost of key raw materials (including steel scrap, iron units, and energy costs) and our ability to pass-on any cost increases; (4) the impact of domestic and foreign import price competition; (5) risks and uncertainties involving product and/or technology development; and (6) occurrences of unexpected plant outages or equipment failures.

More specifically, we refer you to SDI’s more detailed explanation of these and other factors and risks that may cause such predictive statements to turn out differently, as set forth in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, in our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q or in other reports which we from time to time file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These are available publicly on the SEC Web site, www.sec.gov, and on the Steel Dynamics Web site, www.steeldynamics.com.

Conference Call and Webcast
On Tuesday, July 24, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time, Steel Dynamics will host a conference call with investors and analysts to discuss the company’s first quarter operating and financial results. We invite you to listen to the live audiocast of the conference call accessible from our website (http://steeldynamics.com) , or via telephone (the conference call number may also be obtained on our website). A replay of the discussion will be available on our website following the conclusion of the conference call.

Contact: Theresa E. Wagler, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer— +1.260.969.3500