Nucor Sees Weak Q2 Profit - Update

(RTTNews) - Steel maker Nucor Corp. (NUE), Thursday projected a weak earnings outlook for the second quarter, as pricing continues to remain under pressure.

Charlotte, North Carolina-based Nucor expects second-quarter profit of $0.20 to $0.25 per share. On average, 16 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.31 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Last year second quarter, the company reported earnings of $0.46 per share.

The company said prices have started to stabilize at its steel mills segment, but experienced some margin erosion as decrease in average sales prices slightly outpaced the decrease in average cost of raw materials consumed.

Nucor said pricing remains under pressure from exceptionally high levels of imports that continue to flood the domestic market. Imports accounted for an estimated 32 percent of the finished steel market in the first five months of 2015, compared with an estimated 26 percent in the first five months of 2014.

The improvement in non-residential construction markets has boosted the performance of Nucor's downstream products segment.

Meanwhile, the performance of the raw materials segment is expected to be consistent with the first quarter of 2015.

NUE is currently trading at $47.47, down $0.65 or 1.49 percent on the NYSE.