Nucor Reports Results for Second Quarter of 2019 (Continued)
Nucor’s liquidity position remains very strong with $1.48 billion in cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments as of June 29, 2019.
During the second quarter of 2019, Nucor repurchased approximately 2.3 million shares of its common stock for an average price of $55.41 per share. Nucor has repurchased approximately 3.5 million shares of its common stock for an average price of $57.25 per share through the first half of 2019. At June 29, 2019, Nucor had approximately 303,157,000 shares outstanding and approximately $1.3 billion available under its share repurchase program.
Second Quarter Highlights
In June 2019, Nucor’s board of directors declared a cash dividend of $0.40 per share payable on August 9, 2019 to stockholders of record on June 28, 2019. This dividend is Nucor’s 185th consecutive quarterly cash dividend, a record the Company expects to continue.
Second Quarter of 2019 Analysis
As expected, earnings from the Company’s steel mills segment in the second quarter of 2019 decreased from the first quarter of 2019 primarily due to the impact that service center destocking has had on order rates. Additionally, increased domestic supply and a declining scrap price environment led to aggressive inventory management by our customers.
The profitability of the steel products segment improved in the second quarter of 2019 as compared to the first quarter of 2019, primarily due to typical seasonal patterns and improved weather conditions benefiting nonresidential construction markets.
The operating performance of the raw materials segment in the second quarter of 2019 was similar to the first quarter of 2019. Our DRI facility in Trinidad had a planned outage that started on June 19 and ended on July 13.
Third Quarter of 2019 Outlook
The performance of the raw materials segment is expected to decrease in the third quarter of 2019 as compared to the second quarter of 2019 due to further margin compression in the Company’s DRI businesses.
The profitability of Nucor’s steel products segment is expected to continue to improve during the third quarter of 2019 as compared to the second quarter of 2019. Nonresidential construction market conditions remain strong. In addition, recently implemented efficiency initiatives in rebar fabrication and metal buildings are enhancing performance from those businesses.
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Nucor Executive Offices: 1915 Rexford Road, Charlotte, North Carolina 28211
Phone 704-366-7000 Fax 704-362-4208 www.nucor.com