AK Steel second-quarter earnings drop sharply
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio, July 20 (Reuters) - Steel producer AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE:AKS - news) said on Friday its second-quarter earnings fell sharply as demand for steel remained weak amid the slowing U.S. economy.
Middletown, Ohio-based AK Steel, which makes flat-rolled carbon, stainless and electrical steel products for automotive, appliance and construction markets, reported earnings of $2.7 million, or 2 cents per share. That compared with earnings of $48.9 million, or 44 cents a share, a year earlier. The steelmaker said its sales rose by about $23 million, to $1.0 billion.
Analysts' earnings estimates had ranged from a loss of 10 cents per share to a profit of 1 cent, with a consensus estimate of a loss of 5 cents a share, according to research firm Thomson Financial/First Call.
Operating profit per ton tripled to $24 per ton shipped, from $8 a year earlier, the company said.
Shares of AK Steel, which have outperformed the Standard & Poor's 500 Index by more than 50 percent over the past 12 months, closed at $12.44 on Thursday, off their 52-week high of $15 |
