West Chester, Ohio-based flat rolled steelmaker AK Steel Friday provided guidance for its Q1 2013 financial results. AK Steel expects to incur a net loss of between $0.09 and $0.13 per diluted share of common stock for Q1 2013, an improvement over the Q4 2012 net loss of $1.89 per diluted share ($230.4 million).
AK Steel said that it expects shipments of approximately 1,275,000 to 1,300,000 tons in Q1 2013 compared to shipments of 1,406,100 tons in Q4 2012. For Q1 2013, the company said it expects increased shipments to the automotive market compared to the previous quarter. However, AK Steel said that it projects its Q1 shipments to the spot market will decrease from the prior quarter as the normal cyclical improvement in spot market shipments has not yet materialized.
The company expects its average selling price per-ton for Q1 2013 to increase by approximately 5percent, to about $1,060 per ton, from its average selling price per ton of $1,011 for Q4 2012.