AK Steel Reports Financial Results for First Quarter of 2011
04/27/2011 - AK Steel reported net income of $8.7 million on net sales of $1.58 billion for the first quarter of 2011.
AK Steel reported net income of $8.7 million on net sales of $1.58 billion for the first quarter of 2011.
The $8.7 million net income ($0.08 per diluted share of common stock) compares to net income of $1.9 million ($0.02 per diluted share) for the year-ago first quarter. The year-ago results include a $25.3 million non-cash tax charge ($0.23 per diluted share of common stock) related to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the related Heath Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act.
Net sales of $1.58 billion on shipments of 1,423,100 tons compare to net sales of $1.41 billion on shipments of 1,385,800 tons for the year-ago first quarter. The company said its average selling price for the quarter was $1,109 per ton, which is approximately 9% higher compared to both the previous quarter and the year-ago first quarter, with year-over-year and sequential quarterly increases resulting primarily from a richer product mix and higher contract and spot market selling prices.
The company reported an operating profit of $19.5 million ($14 per ton), which compares to an operating loss of $154.6 million ($114 per ton) for the previous quarter (4Q2010). Fourth-quarter results include pre-tax charges totaling $72.8 million related to the previously announced shutdown of the company's Ashland (KY) coke plant and a retiree benefit settlement associated with the company's Butler Works.
"AK Steel and our employees again found a way to win by adhering to our core principles in the face of continued economic headwinds," said James L. Wainscott, Chairman, President and CEO. "Despite slightly lower shipments than we estimated, and continued high raw material costs, we improved operating income by more than $174 million compared to the fourth quarter of 2010."
Looking ahead to the second quarter of 2011, AK Steel said it expects shipments to be between 1,500,000 and 1,550,000 tons, reflecting a strong increase over first-quarter 2011 shipments. The company said it anticipates that its second-quarter 2011 average per-ton selling price will be approximately 7% higher compared to the first quarter of 2011, and that it expects to earn an operating profit of approximately $65 per ton for the second quarter of 2011.
AK Steel produces flat-rolled carbon, stainless and electrical steels, primarily for automotive, appliance, construction and electrical power generation and distribution markets. The company employs about 6200 men and women in Middletown, Mansfield, Coshocton and Zanesville, Ohio; Butler, Pa.; Ashland, Ky.; Rockport, Ind.; and its corporate headquarters in West Chester, Ohio.
AK Tube LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AK Steel, employs about 300 men and women in plants in Walbridge, Ohio, and Columbus, Ind. AK Tube produces carbon and stainless electric resistance welded (ERW) tubular steel products for truck, automotive and other markets.
