By Tess Stynes
Nucor Corp. said its second-quarter earnings fell 15% as low
steel prices hurt revenue, although the company said its steel
mills unit turned in a better-than-expected performance.
The Charlotte, N.C., steelmaker last month said pricing has
started to stabilize in its steel mills segment, but margins had
weakened as a decline in selling prices outpaced a drop in
raw-material costs.
The American steel industry is being reshaped by a global steel
glut fueled by China's surging production. Nucor and other U.S.
steelmakers have sought help from the government in response to a
flood of imports, saying they are the victims of illegal trade
practices.
Nucor said Thursday it was "pleased with recently passed
legislation that strengthens our trade laws and provides the steel
industry with more effective tools to fight back against unfair
trade."
The company added that "while these trade law changes alone will
not address the serious challenges facing the U.S. steel industry
due to systemic steel overcapacity overseas, they do strengthen our
hand against illegal trade practices."
Overall, Nucor reported a profit of $124.8 million, or 39 cents
a share, down from $147 million, or 46 cents a share, a year
earlier. The company had projected per-share profit of 20 cents to
25 cents. Revenue decreased 18% to $4.36 billion.
Average sales price per ton fell 13%. Shipments to outside
customers dropped 5%, including a decline of 2% in steel mill
shipments that reflected reduced production.
Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com
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