Nucor (NUE $41.04 +0.33) sees second quarter earnings of $0.75 to
$0.80 versus the $0.86 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate, including a $0.06 IFO
charge. This calculates out to earnings growth of 160% to 180% year/year and 50%
to 60% quarter-over-quarter.
The company said, "As we expected, our profitability has significantly improved
from the first quarter to the second quarter, as price increases for steel mill
products caught up with higher raw material costs. We continue to believe that
end markets such as automotive, heavy equipment, energy, and general
manufacturing have experienced some real demand improvement. These increases in
profits were achieved despite the rebalancing by our customers of supply chain
inventories, the impact on the manufacturing/auto sector of the devastating
Japanese earthquake/tsunami and the lost sales, production and shipments from
the weather-related power outages and historic river flooding in North America.
Q3 should not see a continuation of these weather-related issues. Improvement in
real demand is most evident in special bar quality, sheet and plate products
sold to the manufacturing, industrial and energy sectors. The most challenging
markets for our products continue to be those associated with residential and
non-residential construction. We do expect continued stability in order rates as
raw material prices have been less volatile than in 2010."






