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Nucor Provides Guidance for Second Quarter Earnings

06/13/2013 - As it announced second quarter earnings guidance, Nucor said overall operating performance in the steel mills segment is down compared to the first quarter of 2013, with weaker performance in sheet and structural steel somewhat offset by improvement in plate.

Nucor Corporation announced guidance for its second quarter ending 29 June 2013.  Nucor expects second quarter results to be in the range of US$0.25 to US$0.30 per diluted share.  This range is similar to first quarter 2013 earnings of US$0.26 per diluted share and represents a decrease from the second quarter of 2012 earnings of US$0.35 per diluted share.
Projected second quarter results include no LIFO charge as compared with a charge of US$18.0 million(US$0.03 per diluted share) in the first quarter of 2013 and a credit of US$14.5 million (US$0.03 per diluted share) in the second quarter of 2012.  Also affecting earnings in the second quarter of 2012 was a non-cash impairment charge of US$30.0 million (US$0.09 per diluted share) related to our Duferdofin Nucor S.r.l. joint venture and a non-cash charge of US$8.5 million (US$0.02 per diluted share) related to purchase accounting adjustments and the elimination of profit associated with our steel mills' sales to Skyline Steel LLC following the acquisition of that business in June of 2012.   
Overall operating performance in the steel mills segment is down compared to the first quarter of 2013, with weaker performance in sheet and structural steel somewhat offset by improvement in plate.  As we expected, our fabricated construction products businesses (rebar fabrication, joist and decking, and pre-engineered metal buildings) are projected to return to profitability in the second quarter after the typical seasonal slowdown in the first quarter led to a modest loss.  Our raw materials segment is also expected to report stronger results in the second quarter, reflecting normalized operations at our Trinidad Direct Reduced Iron facility following an unplanned 18 day outage in the first quarter.  Thus far in 2013 non-residential construction markets continue to lack sustained momentum, but they are slowly improving from historically low levels.  The strongest end markets continue to be in manufactured goods including energy and automotive. 
Nucor and affiliates are manufacturers of steel products, with operating facilities primarily in the U.S. and Canada. Products produced include: carbon and alloy steel -- in bars, beams, sheet and plate; steel piling; steel joists and joist girders; steel deck; fabricated concrete reinforcing steel; cold finished steel; steel fasteners; metal building systems; steel grating and expanded metal; and wire and wire mesh. Nucor, through The David J. Joseph Company, also brokers ferrous and nonferrous metals, pig iron and HBI/DRI; supplies ferro-alloys; and processes ferrous and nonferrous scrap.  Nucor is North America's largest recycler.