AK Steel Warns of Charge, Wider Loss in 3Q

AK Steel (NYSE:AKS) warned on Friday that average selling prices will be lower in the third quarter and that it expects to incur a non-cash tax charge of around $29 million.

The one-time maintenance outage expense of $29 million, compared with just $1 million recorded in the second quarter of 2012, is expected to impact earnings per share by 26 cents.

The West Chester, Ohio-based producer of flat-rolled carbon, stainless and electrical steels expects to record a quarterly loss of 60 cents to 65 cents a share, below the 20-cent loss forecasted by analysts in a Thomson Reuters poll.

Excluding the special item, AK Steel would be above Wall Street’s consensus.

Shares of AK Steel fell nearly 3.5% to $6.21 on the outlook.

While shipments are projected to be about 3% higher from the second quarter to around 1.37 million tons, AK Steel forecasts average per-ton selling prices will be down about 7%.

AK Steel cited lower spot market prices for carbon steel products to a decline in global economic and business conditions, reduced raw material surcharges and a lower percentage of value-added products among the mix of its shipments.