Posted on 16 Jun 2022
Electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaker Nucor expects to post record earnings in the second quarter.
The North Carolina-based steelmaker, the largest in the US, expects its second-quarter profit to be 74-76pc higher than the same period of 2021.
The profit forecast of $8.75-8.85/share would be 10-11pc higher than the prior record, set in the fourth quarter of 2021.
The rise in Nucor's earnings is being driven by the company's steel products segment, which is benefiting from continued robust demand in the nonresidential construction markets. Steel mill earnings are expected to rise on higher profitability at Nucor's bar, plate, and sheet mills.
The company's raw materials division — which includes scrap and direct reduced iron (DRI) — is also expected to generate higher profits given relatively higher raw materials prices.
Nucor has put its profits to work, spending $3bn to buy an overhead door company in May and purchasing a pickle line adjacent to its Gallatin flat-rolled steel mill in Ghent, Kentucky. The company is also spending $2.7bn to build a 3mn short tons (st)/yr flat-rolled mill in West Virginia.
Source:Argus Media
