Steel Dynamics' Profit Outlook Surrounds Analyst Expectations

Steel producer Steel Dynamics Inc. said on Monday that it expects second-quarter adjusted earnings per share to rise to 20 cents to 24 cents, which surrounds the FactSet consensus analyst estimate of 22 cents, from 17 cents in the same period a year ago. The adjusted EPS excludes non-recurring items, such as severance costs related to its Minnesota operations and costs associated with a furnace maintenance outage. Including the one-time items, net EPS is expected to be 11 cents to 15 cents. Profitability from the company's steel operations is expected to be similar to first-quarter results as improved shipments are offset by the unexpected compression of metal margins, as a results of steel imports remaining much higher than expected. That resulted in average quarterly steel prices falling more than average quarterly scrap prices, the company said. The stock, which slipped 1.9% lower in light premarket trade, has run up 8.4% year to date while the S&P 500 has gained 2.5%.