AK Steel (NASDAQ: AKS) reported 17% growth in second-quarter earnings to 21 cents
per share, compared to 5 cents per share projected by the street. The
better-than-expected earnings sent AKS stock up 2.3%.
Revenues came in at $1.68 billion, down 4% year-over-year and lower than the street view of $1.74 billion. The decrease was primarily due to lower shipments to the automotive market, as expected, and lower spot market selling prices.
The company’s adjusted EBITDA was $151.5 million, or 9.0% of net sales.
Looking ahead into fiscal 2019, the company now expects net income to be in the range of $41 to $61 million, or $0.13 to $0.20 per diluted share.
Excluding the impact of the Ashland Works closure, adjusted net income is expected to be in the range of $118 to $138 million, or $0.37 to $0.44 per diluted share, and adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $470 to $490 million..
The stock is down 54% so far this year, though the stock
movement has been pretty much sideways since the beginning of this year.
Meanwhile, people who have stayed invested in over 5 years will feel the pinch,
with the stock losing almost 73% of its value.