WEST CHESTER, Ohio (AP) -- Steelmaker AK Steel Holding Corp. said on Tuesday that it lost $59.2 million during the third quarter as iron ore prices nearly doubled.
The net loss worked out to 54 cents per share for the quarter that ended Sept. 30. A year earlier, the company reported net income of $6.2 million, or 6 cents per share.
Revenue rose 51 percent to $1.58 billion, from $1.04 billion a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting a loss of 34 cents per share on revenue of $1.54 billion.
AK Steel shares dropped 4 percent, or 58 cents to $12.79 in early trading Tuesday.
AK Steel said the higher ore prices added $76 million to its third-quarter operating loss. It lost $52 per ton it shipped.
The company said it expects to ship between 1.3 million tons and 1.35 million tons during the fourth quarter. The average selling price per ton is expected to fall about 4 percent from the third quarter. It said it expects to lose about $80 per ton for the fourth quarter because of the lower volume and selling prices combined with high ore costs.
The company said it has agreed with two of its three main ore suppliers on a 2010 price increase of 98.7 percent. The third supplier is seeking a larger increase, which the company is fighting. It said it had used a 65 percent price increase in its previous third-quarter guidance.
The third quarter was also hurt by an 11-day shutdown at its Ashland, Ky., blast furnace, which had been planned for next year but was accelerated.
AK Steel makes flat-rolled carbon, stainless and electrical steels, primarily for automotive, appliance, construction and electrical power generation and distribution markets.
The net loss worked out to 54 cents per share for the quarter that ended Sept. 30. A year earlier, the company reported net income of $6.2 million, or 6 cents per share.
Revenue rose 51 percent to $1.58 billion, from $1.04 billion a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting a loss of 34 cents per share on revenue of $1.54 billion.
AK Steel shares dropped 4 percent, or 58 cents to $12.79 in early trading Tuesday.
AK Steel said the higher ore prices added $76 million to its third-quarter operating loss. It lost $52 per ton it shipped.
The company said it expects to ship between 1.3 million tons and 1.35 million tons during the fourth quarter. The average selling price per ton is expected to fall about 4 percent from the third quarter. It said it expects to lose about $80 per ton for the fourth quarter because of the lower volume and selling prices combined with high ore costs.
The company said it has agreed with two of its three main ore suppliers on a 2010 price increase of 98.7 percent. The third supplier is seeking a larger increase, which the company is fighting. It said it had used a 65 percent price increase in its previous third-quarter guidance.
The third quarter was also hurt by an 11-day shutdown at its Ashland, Ky., blast furnace, which had been planned for next year but was accelerated.
AK Steel makes flat-rolled carbon, stainless and electrical steels, primarily for automotive, appliance, construction and electrical power generation and distribution markets.
