United States Steel Corporation Reports First Quarter 2024 Results

United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) reported first quarter 2024 net earnings of $171 million, or $0.68 per diluted share. Adjusted net earnings was $206 million, or $0.82 per diluted share. This compares to first quarter 2023 net earnings of $199 million, or $0.78 per diluted share. Adjusted net earnings for the first quarter 2023 was $195 million, or $0.77 per diluted share.

Commenting on the Company's first quarter performance, U. S. Steel President and Chief Executive Officer, David B. Burritt said, "We delivered a solid first quarter while maintaining an unwavering focus on safety as we progress towards the close of our pending transaction with Nippon Steel Corporation. First quarter adjusted EBITDA of $414 million reflects the benefits of a diverse order book and efficiently run operations in the midst of changing market conditions, partly offset by an unfavorable inventory impact in our North American Flat-Rolled segment. Both our North American Flat-Rolled and Mini Mill segments generated sizeable sequential increases in EBITDA, capturing higher steel prices and optimizing product mix for improved profitability. Our European segment successfully navigated a dynamic steel market backdrop to deliver better than expected performance. Meanwhile, our Tubular segment continued to deliver historically strong performance despite a softer market environment."

"We expect an even stronger second quarter, with adjusted EBITDA in the range of $425 million to $475 million, as typical first quarter seasonal mining headwinds abate," continued Burritt. "This should drive sequentially stronger EBITDA for our Flat-Rolled segment, while our Mini Mill segment is expected to be negatively impacted by lower average selling prices. Our U. S. Steel Europe segment results are expected to remain challenged, reflecting mounting commercial headwinds. As a result, we extended a planned outage on blast furnace #2 to balance our production with demand. We expect results in our Tubular segment to moderate as selling prices decline."

Commenting on the Company's strategic initiatives, Burritt concluded, "We continue to move closer to the completion of our in-flight capital projects and the incremental earnings and resilient cash flow they are expected to generate. We recently commissioned our new dual Galvalume^® / Galvanized coating line at Big River Steel. This state-of-the-art finishing line will enhance our product mix while meeting the demand of customers. Meanwhile, we're another quarter closer to the start-up of Big River 2, our new mini mill in Osceola, Arkansas. Big River 2 remains on-track for start-up in the second half of 2024. I invite you to review the progress being made on Big River 2, which is showcased in our investor presentation posted on our Investor Relations webpage."

Transaction Update

The Company continues to progress towards closing the transaction with Nippon Steel Corporation. Last month, U. S. Steel stockholders approved the merger with ~99% approval of shares voted, satisfying a significant condition to closing. The Company and Nippon Steel Corporation each received, and are working to respond to, a request for additional information and documentary materials (commonly referred to as a "second request") from the U.S. Department of Justice in connection with antitrust review of the merger under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (the "HSR Act").

The Company currently expects that the merger will be completed in the second half of 2024, subject to the fulfillment of the remaining, customary closing conditions, including the expiration or termination of the waiting period under the HSR Act and receipt of other required regulatory approvals.

We present adjusted net earnings, adjusted net earnings per diluted share, earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin, which are non-GAAP measures, as additional measurements to enhance the understanding of our operating performance. We believe that EBITDA, considered along with net earnings, is a relevant indicator of trends relating to our operating performance and provides management and investors with additional information for comparison of our operating results to the operating results of other companies.

Adjusted net earnings and adjusted net earnings per diluted share are non-GAAP measures that exclude the effects of items that include: restructuring and other charges, stock-based compensation expense, asset impairment charges, VEBA asset surplus adjustment, environmental remediation charges, strategic alternatives review process costs, Granite City idling costs, tax impact of adjusted items and other charges, net (Adjustment Items). Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margins are also non-GAAP measures that exclude the effects of certain Adjustment Items. We present adjusted net earnings, adjusted net earnings per diluted share, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin to enhance the understanding of our ongoing operating performance and established trends affecting our core operations by excluding the effects of events that can obscure underlying trends. U. S. Steel's management considers adjusted net earnings, adjusted net earnings per diluted share, adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted EBITDA margin as alternative measures of operating performance and not alternative measures of the Company's liquidity. U. S. Steel's management considers adjusted net earnings, adjusted net earnings per diluted share, adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted EBITDA margin useful to investors by facilitating a comparison of our operating performance to the operating performance of our competitors. Additionally, the presentation of adjusted net earnings, adjusted net earnings per diluted share, adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted EBITDA margin provides insight into management's view and assessment of the Company's ongoing operating performance because management does not consider the Adjustment Items when evaluating the Company's financial performance. Adjusted net earnings, adjusted net earnings per diluted share, adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted EBITDA margin should not be considered a substitute for net earnings, earnings per diluted share or other financial measures as computed in accordance with U.S. GAAP and are not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies.

We also present free cash flow, a non-GAAP measure of cash generated from operations after any investing activity and investable free cash flow, a non-GAAP measure of cash generated from operations after any investing activity adjusted for strategic capital expenditures. We believe that free cash flow and investable free cash flow provide further insight into the Company's overall utilization of cash. A condensed consolidated statement of operations (unaudited), condensed consolidated cash flow statement (unaudited), condensed consolidated balance sheet (unaudited) and preliminary supplemental statistics (unaudited) for U. S. Steel are attached.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This release contains information regarding the Company that may constitute "forward-looking statements," as that term is defined under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other securities laws, that are subject to risks and uncertainties. We intend the forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements in those sections. Generally, we have identified such forward-looking statements by using the words "believe," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "project," "target," "forecast," "aim," "should," "plan," "goal," "future," "will," "may" and similar expressions or by using future dates in connection with any discussion of, among other things, statements expressing general views about future operating or financial results, operating or financial performance, trends, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future, anticipated cost savings, potential capital and operational cash improvements and changes in the global economic environment, the construction or operation of new or existing facilities or capabilities, statements regarding our greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals, as well as statements regarding the proposed transaction, including the timing of the completion of the transaction. However, the absence of these words or similar expressions does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not historical facts, but instead represent only the Company's beliefs regarding future goals, plans and expectations about our prospects for the future and other events, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of the Company's control. It is possible that the Company's actual results and financial condition may differ, possibly materially, from the anticipated results and financial condition indicated in these forward-looking statements. Management of the Company believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable as of the time made. However, caution should be taken not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements because such statements speak only as of the date when made. In addition, forward looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's historical experience and our present expectations or projections. Risks and uncertainties include without limitation: the ability of the parties to consummate the proposed transaction on a timely basis or at all; the timing, receipt and terms and conditions of any required governmental and regulatory approvals of the proposed transaction; the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the definitive agreement and plan of merger relating to the proposed transaction (the "Merger Agreement"); the risk that the parties to the Merger Agreement may not be able to satisfy the conditions to the proposed transaction in a timely manner or at all; risks related to disruption of management time from ongoing business operations due to the proposed transaction; certain restrictions during the pendency of the proposed transaction that may impact the Company's ability to pursue certain business opportunities or strategic transactions; the risk that any announcements relating to the proposed transaction could have adverse effects on the market price of the Company's common stock; the risk of any unexpected costs or expenses resulting from the proposed transaction; the risk of any litigation relating to the proposed transaction; the risk that the proposed transaction and its announcement could have an adverse effect on the ability of the Company to retain customers and retain and hire key personnel and maintain relationships with customers, suppliers, employees, stockholders and other business relationships and on its operating results and business generally; and the risk the pending proposed transaction could distract management of the Company. The Company directs readers to its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2023 and Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, and the other documents it files with the SEC for other risks associated with the Company's future performance. These documents contain and identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements.

Founded in 1901, United States Steel Corporation is a leading steel producer. With an unwavering focus on safety, the Company's customer-centric Best for All^® strategy is advancing a more secure, sustainable future for U. S. Steel and its stakeholders. With a renewed emphasis on innovation, U. S. Steel serves the automotive, construction, appliance, energy, containers, and packaging industries with high value-added steel products such as U. S. Steel's proprietary XG3^® advanced high-strength steel. The Company also maintains competitively advantaged iron ore production and has an annual raw steelmaking capability of 22.4 million net tons. U. S. Steel is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with world-class operations across the United States and in Central Europe. For more information, please visit www.ussteel.com.

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