West Chester, Ohio-based flat rolled steelmaker AK Steel reported Tuesday a net loss of $9.9 million for Q1 2013, compared to a net loss of $11.8 million in Q1 2012. This also compares to a net loss of $230.4 million, or an adjusted net loss of $36.6 million, for Q4 2012. Net sales for Q1 2013 were $1.4 billion on shipments of 1,289,800 tons, compared to net sales of $1.5 billion on shipments of 1,325,900 tons for the year-ago Q1. The decreased shipments in Q1 2013 were primarily due to lower shipments to the carbon spot market, partially offset by increased shipments to the automotive market.
The company said its average selling price for Q1 2013 was $1,062 per ton, a 7 percent decrease from Q1 2012, but a 5 percent increase from Q4 2012. The lower average selling price for Q1 2013 compared to Q1 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.
Deteriorating spot market prices drastically impacted AK Steel in Q1, and James Wainscott, Chairman, President and CEO of AK Steel commented, "While the automotive market was a bright spot for our business, markets remained challenging for some products, particularly those in the spot market. Simply put, global steelmaking capacity continues to exceed demand. Additionally, the cyclical improvement in spot market pricing we normally see during the first quarter did not materialize and is expected to occur later this year."