AK Steel Holding Corp. (AKS) reported that its first-quarter net loss attributable to the company narrowed to $9.9 million, or $0.07 per share, from $11.8 million, or $0.11 per share in the first quarter of 2012.
Net sales for the first quarter of 2013 were $1.37 billion on shipments of 1.29 million tons, compared to net sales of $1.51 billion on shipments of 1.32 million tons for the year-ago first quarter. The decreased shipments in the first quarter of 2013 compared to prior period were primarily due to lower shipments to the carbon spot market, partially offset by increased shipments to the automotive market.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report a loss of $0.11 per share on revenues of $1.39 billion for the quarter.
The company said its average selling price for the first quarter of 2013 was $1,062 per ton, a 7% decrease from the first quarter of 2012. The lower average selling price for the first quarter of 2013 compared to the first quarter of 2012 was primarily due to lower spot market prices for carbon steel products, reduced raw material surcharges and lower selling prices for electrical steel products globally.
The company said that it will provide detailed guidance for its second quarter results in June. In advance of this guidance, the company indicated that it will have a planned seven-day maintenance outage at its Middletown blast furnace in the second quarter, which is the first major maintenance outage that has been required for that furnace since a major reline in 2009.
Total maintenance outage costs, including the Middletown blast furnace, are expected to be about $21 million in the second quarter of 2013, compared to $1 million in the first quarter of 2013. The company expects the increased maintenance outage costs in the second quarter to be mostly offset as a result of lower costs, primarily for raw materials.
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