Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) shares declined in Friday’s pre-market session after the maker of steel and steel products forecast fiscal Q2 earnings well below analysts’ expectations. 

NUE was down 2.4% at $50.45 in recent pre-market trading, in a 52-week range of $42.22 to $54.73. For its fiscal Q2 ended July 5, the company now expects earnings of $0.35 to $0.40 per share, compared with analysts’ mean estimate according to Capital IQ of $0.62 per share. 

The company noted the guidance range is up from its Q2 2013 earnings of $0.27 per share and comparable with its Q1 2014 earnings of $0.35 per share. However, it is at the low end of the expectations that had supported the qualitative guidance the company gave with its Q1 results for “some improvement” in Q2 from Q1. 

The Q2 guidance includes $21 million, or $0.04 per diluted share, of additional employee stock-based compensation expense related to the timing of annual grants that are typically authorized in June of each year.

It also includes expectations for the company’s raw-materials segment to have an operating loss of $30 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, from its new direct reduced iron plant in St. James Parish, Louisiana. “The Louisiana DRI plant has continued to exceed our volume expectations while producing excellent quality DRI units; however, yield loss remains higher than desired,” the company said, noting it expects “significant improvements” in the performance of the facility in Q3, with profitable performance anticipated by the end of the year. 

Overall operating performance at Nucor’s steel-mills segment is expected to be slightly improved from Q1, and the company said its fabricated-construction-products businesses “returned to solid profitability” in Q2, reflecting improving conditions in the nonresidential construction markets. 

“Although nonresidential construction markets are at historically low levels, they are improving,” Nucor said. “Accordingly, we expect further increased operating profits in our fabricated-construction-products businesses going forward.”