Nucor Guidance for Q2 2014

An earlier conference call from Nucor mentioned that they “currently expect some improvement in second quarter of 2014 earnings from the first quarter of 2014, excluding the impact of the tax and disposal of assets charges incurred in the first quarter.”

Due to performance of their raw materials segment, Nucor anticipated a $30 million loss at the new direct reduced iron (DRI) plant in St. James Parish, Louisiana. The release noted that this DRI plant “has continued to exceed our volume expectations while producing excellent quality DRI units; however, yield loss remains higher than desired.” A three week outage began in June to make adjustments to improve yield and conversion costs at the facility.  Significant performance improvements are expected in Q3, with profitable performance anticipated by the end of the year.

The report continued, “Overall operating performance at our steel mills segment is expected to be slightly improved compared to the first quarter of 2014, as improvements in sheet and plate profitability are partially offset by lower profitability in structural steel. In June, Nucor-Yamato Steel is undergoing a planned three week outage associated with our $115 million sheet piling capital project. This planned outage will result in lower shipments for structural steel. Import levels continue to negatively impact pricing and margins, particularly at our bar and sheet mills. Additionally, the second quarter of fiscal 2014 is four days shorter than the first quarter of 2014, contributing to lower shipments. Steel demand continues to be strong, particularly for sheet and plate products.”