By RTT News, March 22, 2013, 11:02:00 AM EDT
(RTTNews.com) - AK Steel Holding Corp. ( AKS ) said it expects narrower loss for the first quarter of 2013, which would represent a significant improvement compared to the fourth quarter of 2012, due to lower costs and lower raw material costs.
The company expects to incur a net loss of between $0.09 and $0.13 per share of common stock for the first quarter of 2013, which would represent a significant improvement compared to the fourth quarter of 2012. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report a loss of $0.09 per share for the first-quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
The company noted that it anticipates to record a non-cash tax benefit of approximately $4 million to $5 million for the first quarter of 2013. This tax benefit is primarily attributable to a change in a tax valuation allowance related to the company's deferred tax assets.
In addition, the company projects shipments of approximately 1.27 million to 1.30 million tons in the first quarter of 2013 compared to shipments of 1.41 million tons in the fourth quarter of 2012. For the first quarter of 2013, the company said it expects increased shipments to the automotive market compared to the previous quarter. However, the company said that it projects its first quarter 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 the first quarter of 2013 to increase by approximately five percent, to about $1,060 per ton, from its average selling price per ton of $1,011 for the fourth quarter of 2012. The expected increase in average selling price is primarily due to a higher-priced product mix compared to the previous quarter. The company said that it expects lower costs for the first quarter primarily due to lower raw material costs.
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