AK Steel Unveils Q2 Outlook - Analyst Blog

AK Steel Holding Corporation AKS has announced its outlook for the second quarter of 2014. The company expects to posts a net loss in the range of 19 cents to 23 cents for the quarter, which is a considerable improvement from the loss of 63 cents per share reported in the first quarter of 2014.

AK Steel expects adjusted loss to be in the range of 2 cents to 6 cents per share. This excludes a loss of 17 cents per share that reflects mark-to-market losses on derivatives, which are expected to be about $23 million for the quarter.

AK Steel expects shipments of roughly 1,375,000 tons in second-quarter 2014, marking a sequential increase of 9%. AK Steel forecasts its average selling price for the second quarter to remain flat compared with first-quarter 2014. The company's overall average selling price has not changed significantly due to a change in product mix.

Extreme weather conditions in the first quarter led to increased level of ice coverage on the Great Lakes, which delayed the start of the 2014 shipping season and impacted the movement of Canadian iron ore. As a result, the company expects to incur higher costs in the second quarter. Also, in the second quarter, supply of iron ore to the steel industry was lesser than expected and hence the company cut its production rate in order to be at par with the supply level.

AK Steel anticipates income tax expense of roughly $2 million for the second quarter.

AK Steel currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some other stocks worth considering in the steel space include Universal Stainless & Alloy Products Inc. USAP, Grupo Simec S.A.B. de C.V. SIM and ThyssenKrupp AG (TYEKF). While Universal Stainless has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Grupo Simec and ThyssenKrupp hold a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).