AK Steel says Q2 operating loss will be less than Q1

Monday, 01 June 2009 03:04:48 (GMT+2)

West Chester, Ohio-based AK Steel Holding Corp. announced Thursday that it expects its second quarter operating loss to improve from its first quarter operating loss of $99.9 million.

While AK Steel's chief executive, chairman and president, James L. Wainscott, did not provide specific details, he said the company expects improved results from the first quarter despite its plant shutdowns and the pruning of production from the US automotive giants, General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC. An estimated 32 percent of AK Steel's sales revenue last year was generated from the auto industry.

In an Internet broadcast from the company's annual shareholder meeting in Chicago, Wainscott said, "While these actions will impact our business, we expect to see an improvement ... over our first quarter results, which is an important next step toward returning to operating profitability later in the year."

AK Steel announced in early May that auto production cuts would result in a Q2 operating loss of about $75 million to $80 million, which was much larger than the original forecast of a $50 million operating loss, but still narrower than the first quarter loss.

 previous article  /  next article