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Nucor Corporation (NUE - Free Report) reported lower profits in second-quarter 2019. The steel giant logged net earnings of $386.5 million or $1.26 per share, down from $683.2 million or $2.13 in the year-ago quarter. Nevertheless, earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.25.
Nucor recorded net sales of $5,896 million, down roughly 8.7% year over year. The figure missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6,107.7 million.
Nucor Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Total steel mills shipments in the quarter were 5,800,000 tons, down 10% year over year. Total tons shipped to outside customers fell 7% year over year to 6,724,000 tons. Average sales price declined 2% year over year.
Steel mill operating rates fell to 84% from 95% in the year-ago quarter.
Segment Highlights
Profitability in the steel mills segment fell sequentially in the second quarter. Per the company, the downside was primarily caused by the impact of service center destocking on order rates. Also, a declining scrap price environment and higher domestic supply led to aggressive inventory management by customers.
The performance of steel products unit improved sequentially in the reported quarter, courtesy of typical seasonal patterns along with better weather conditions benefiting the non-residential construction markets.
Performance in the raw materials division was in line with first-quarter levels. Notably, Nucor’s Trinidad-based DRI facility had a planned outage, which was started on Jun 19 and completed on Jul 13.
Financial Position
Nucor ended the second quarter with cash and cash equivalents of roughly $1.43 billion, down 3.7% year over year. Long-term debt was $4,234.3 million, modestly up from $4,232.2 million in the year-ago quarter.
The company repurchased around 2.3 million shares during the second quarter. As of Jun 29, 2019, the company had roughly 303,157,000 shares outstanding and around $1.3 billion available under its share repurchase program.
Outlook
Nucor expects the raw materials division’s performance to decline sequentially in the third quarter due to margin compression in its DRI businesses.
The company expects profitability in the steel products unit to witness continued improvement during the third quarter compared with the second quarter. Notably, the non-residential construction market is strong. Additionally, the recently implemented efficiency initiatives in metal buildings and rebar fabrication are boosting performance from those businesses.
Performance in the steel mills segment is expected to decline sequentially in the third quarter. Per Nucor, the downside will be mainly caused by lower flat rolled and plate steel prices. Moreover, the company stated that the prices of several key product lines have reversed the downward trajectory, which prevailed during the first half of 2019. This was mainly due to service center destocking and weather conditions. Nucor expects service center customers to resume normal market demand-driven buying trends in the third quarter.
Price Performance
Shares of Nucor have lost 15.5% in the past year compared with the industry’s 25.6% decline.
SSR Mining has an expected earnings growth rate of 100% for 2019. The company’s shares have gained 44.8% in the past year.
Flexible Solutions has projected earnings growth rate of 342.9% for the current year. The company’s shares have surged 145.7% in a year’s time.
Rio Tinto has an estimated earnings growth rate of 38.7% for the current year. Its shares have moved up 11% in the past year.
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Image: Bigstock
Nucor (NUE) Surpasses Q2 Earnings, Lags Revenue Estimates
Nucor Corporation (NUE - Free Report) reported lower profits in second-quarter 2019. The steel giant logged net earnings of $386.5 million or $1.26 per share, down from $683.2 million or $2.13 in the year-ago quarter. Nevertheless, earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.25.
Nucor recorded net sales of $5,896 million, down roughly 8.7% year over year. The figure missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6,107.7 million.
Nucor Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Nucor Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Nucor Corporation Quote
Operating Stats
Total steel mills shipments in the quarter were 5,800,000 tons, down 10% year over year. Total tons shipped to outside customers fell 7% year over year to 6,724,000 tons. Average sales price declined 2% year over year.
Steel mill operating rates fell to 84% from 95% in the year-ago quarter.
Segment Highlights
Profitability in the steel mills segment fell sequentially in the second quarter. Per the company, the downside was primarily caused by the impact of service center destocking on order rates. Also, a declining scrap price environment and higher domestic supply led to aggressive inventory management by customers.
The performance of steel products unit improved sequentially in the reported quarter, courtesy of typical seasonal patterns along with better weather conditions benefiting the non-residential construction markets.
Performance in the raw materials division was in line with first-quarter levels. Notably, Nucor’s Trinidad-based DRI facility had a planned outage, which was started on Jun 19 and completed on Jul 13.
Financial Position
Nucor ended the second quarter with cash and cash equivalents of roughly $1.43 billion, down 3.7% year over year. Long-term debt was $4,234.3 million, modestly up from $4,232.2 million in the year-ago quarter.
The company repurchased around 2.3 million shares during the second quarter. As of Jun 29, 2019, the company had roughly 303,157,000 shares outstanding and around $1.3 billion available under its share repurchase program.
Outlook
Nucor expects the raw materials division’s performance to decline sequentially in the third quarter due to margin compression in its DRI businesses.
The company expects profitability in the steel products unit to witness continued improvement during the third quarter compared with the second quarter. Notably, the non-residential construction market is strong. Additionally, the recently implemented efficiency initiatives in metal buildings and rebar fabrication are boosting performance from those businesses.
Performance in the steel mills segment is expected to decline sequentially in the third quarter. Per Nucor, the downside will be mainly caused by lower flat rolled and plate steel prices. Moreover, the company stated that the prices of several key product lines have reversed the downward trajectory, which prevailed during the first half of 2019. This was mainly due to service center destocking and weather conditions. Nucor expects service center customers to resume normal market demand-driven buying trends in the third quarter.
Price Performance
Shares of Nucor have lost 15.5% in the past year compared with the industry’s 25.6% decline.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Nucor currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are SSR Mining Inc. (SSRM - Free Report) , Flexible Solutions International Inc (FSI - Free Report) and Rio Tinto plc (RIO - Free Report) , all sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
SSR Mining has an expected earnings growth rate of 100% for 2019. The company’s shares have gained 44.8% in the past year.
Flexible Solutions has projected earnings growth rate of 342.9% for the current year. The company’s shares have surged 145.7% in a year’s time.
Rio Tinto has an estimated earnings growth rate of 38.7% for the current year. Its shares have moved up 11% in the past year.
More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!
It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.
Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020.
Click here for the 6 trades >>