NUE Nucor Corporation

   By Joshua Jamerson 
 

Nucor Corp. on Thursday reported its profit increased 4.4% in the latest quarter, as revenue also rose amid slight improvements in market conditions.

Still, results fell below Wall Street expectations. Shares, up 44% in the past three months, slipped 2% to $49.27 in morning trading in New York.

The company said it expected its second-quarter results to be "significantly improved" from the first quarter because of recently announced price increases.

Nucor and other U.S. steelmakers, facing a slew of imports that have weighed on steel prices, have said they are the victims of illegal trade practices and have sought help from the government. Nucor said Thursday that imports continued to impact the U.S. steel industry.

The Department of Commerce recently imposed preliminary duties on imports of cold-rolled steel, used to make auto parts, appliances and shipping containers, from seven countries including China, whose steelmakers were slapped with a massive tariff.

Charlotte, N.C.-based Nucor had said it expected improvement in the steel-mills segment in the first quarter of 2016 because of lower costs and a modest improvement in market conditions.

For the three months ended April 2, the company reported a $279.8 million profit on its steel mills, up from $217.1 million a year ago. Total steel mill energy costs in the first quarter of 2016 decreased by roughly $7 per ton due to lower electricity and natural gas unit expenses and higher steel production volumes.

Over all, Nucor reported a profit of $70.8 million, or 22 cents a share, compared with $67.8 million, or 21 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

Revenue slipped 16% to $3.75 billion.

Nucor projected per-share earnings of 20 cents to 25 cents. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a per-share profit of 27 cents on revenue of $3.64 billion.

The company said its results were hurt by a $27.5 million accounting-related charge, while the year-ago quarter included a $16.5 million credit.

Write to Joshua Jamerson at joshua.jamerson@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 21, 2016 10:38 ET (14:38 GMT)

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