AK Steel Sees Loss in Q1 on Higher Imports, Shares Sag - Analyst Blog
Shares of AK Steel AKS) took a tumble after the steel maker said that it expects a loss in the first quarter of 2015, dragged down by increased unfairly traded imports and lower shipments.
The Ohio-based company expects a loss in the band of 23 cents to 28 cents per share for the quarter. The company logged a net loss of 63 cents per share on a reported basis and 40 cents per share on an adjusted basis a year ago. Analysts polled by Zacks currently expect earnings of 3 cents per share on an average for the first quarter.
AK Steel’s first-quarter results are expected to be hurt by lower-than-expected carbon steel spot market shipments and prices resulting from high levels of unfairly traded imports into the U.S. Higher imports have also resulted in a decline in carbon steel spot market selling prices through the quarter.
AK Steel’s shares, which closed 2.1% lower at $4.20 yesterday, dropped 9.5% in after-hours trading. The stock is down roughly 29% so far this year.
AK Steel envisions shipments for the first quarter to be roughly 1,730,000 tons, a roughly 14% fall from the previous quarter. Shipments of carbon and stainless steels to the automotive market, however, is expected to remain strong on healthy demand.
AK Steel noted that a still challenging global economic backdrop coupled with excess steelmaking capacity have led to a significant rise in steel imports into the domestic market. A stronger U.S. dollar has also contributed to the rise. Imports of flat rolled carbon steel products surged roughly 60% last year and have averaged over 1 million tons per month in Jan and Feb 2015.
All these factors have hit AK Steel’s shipments to the carbon spot market and steel selling prices in the first quarter.
AK Steel expects average selling price for the first quarter to be around $995 per ton, up 1% from the sequentially prior quarter. The modest rise is due to favorable product mix, stemming from higher percentage of value-added shipments. The projected price, however, reflects a roughly 9% fall from $1,096 per ton reported a year ago.
Nevertheless, AK Steel expects to gain from reduced raw material and energy costs in the first quarter. It will benefit from lower costs of carbon scrap and iron ore pellets. However, these gains are expected to be more than offset by the unfavorable impacts of weak shipments and selling prices.
AK Steel also expects to register income tax expense of around $7 million or 4 cents per share in the first quarter.
AK Steel is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Other companies in the steel industry worth considering include Kobe Steel Ltd. KBSTY, ThyssenKrupp AG TYEKF and Companhia Siderurgica Nacional SID. While Kobe Steel and ThyssenKrupp hold a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Companhia Siderurgica Nacional retains a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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