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The Irving, Texas-based company said its first-quarter net earnings jumped to $85.4 million or $0.71 per share from $69.

6 million or $0.57 per share a year ago. On average, five analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial expected the company to earn $0.

74 per share for the quarter. The company said that the current-year quarter results included a pre-tax LIFO expense of $10.1 million or $0.

05 per share, in comparison with a LIFO expense of $21.7 million or $0.12 per share in the prior-year quarter.

LIFO expense occurred mainly in the Marketing and Distribution segment, the company noted. For the sequentially preceding quarter, the company posted net earnings of $128.7 million or $1.

04 per share. The company's net sales for the quarter were $1.99 billion, up from $1.

65 billion in the prior-year quarter. However, the company's quarterly sales experienced a decline compared to the fourth-quarter sales of $2.2 billion.

Wall Street analysts projected first-quarter sales of $1.94 billion. According to Commercial Metals' President and Chief Executive Officer Murray McClean, the strong market conditions prevailed in the fourth quarter carried into the fall, leading the company to report its best first quarter ever.

Each of the company's segments posted record earnings, except Marketing and Distribution which incurred a large LIFO charge. McClean also stated that the company enjoyed solid demand for long products in the U.S.

, along with the continued strength of the non-residential construction markets, including infrastructure. The company's Polish operations rebounded strongly from last year and the weaker U.S.

dollar helped overall, McClean added. As per the company, its Domestic Mills segment generated sales of $357.56 million, down from $369.

78 million in the previous-year quarter. The CMCZ segment posted sales of $162.95 million for the quarter, higher than the prior-year quarter sales of $107.

33 million. During the quarter, the company's Domestic Fabrication segment reported sales of $448.79 million, up from $400.

52 million a year earlier. The company also said that the Recycling segment's first-quarter sales of $383.06 million were higher than the $236.

39 million sales reported in the last-year quarter. Further, the sales of the Marketing and Distribution segment climbed to $797.81 million from $684.

57 million in the prior-year quarter. Looking ahead, the company said that its outlook remains positive although the second quarter is traditionally the weakest quarter. The company expects second quarter LIFO diluted net earnings per share in the range of $0.

57 - $0.67, compared $0.65 reported in the previous-year second quarter.

The Street analysts forecast second-quarter earnings of $0.69 per share. The company said that it would continue destocking at service centers, and to a lesser extent, at fabrication facilities.

The fundamentals remain very good with strong demand in non-residential construction markets both in the U.S. and globally, the company noted.

According to the company, International steel prices appear to be at or near the bottom of the current cycle and are likely to increase early in 2007. The company also sees an upward trend in Ferrous scrap prices, based on good international demand as well as U.S.

mills rebuilding inventory of scrap. The company's Fabrication segment is expected to continue benefiting from stable steel prices. The company also sees a strong bounce back for the CMCZ segment in the spring of 2007.

Further, the company stated that its Marketing and Distribution segment would have a steady quarter, though the impact of LIFO is difficult to predict. Overall, 2007 is shaping up to be similar to 2006, the company added. Charlotte, North Carolina-based Nucor Corp.

( | | | ) expects earnings for the fourth quarter to be in the range of $1.05 - $1.15 per share, compared to $1.

09 per share in the fourth quarter of 2005. On a sequential basis, the company's earnings are projected to decline from third-quarter earnings of $1.68 per share.

CMC closed Wednesday's regular trading session at $27.53, down $0.81, on a volume of 1.

42 millions shares.