AK Steel Hikes Prices for Certain Goods

By Eric Volkman – May 23, 2013 at 5:00PM

NYSE: AKS

AK Steel Holding

Customers will pay at least $50 more per ton for carbon flat-rolled steel goods.

Customers of AK Steel (AKS) should prepare to dig more deeply into their wallets. The company announced that it's raising prices on all of its carbon flat-rolled steel products. AK Steel has added a minimum of $50 per ton to the spot market base prices for these goods. The increases are effective immediately.

The company has been contending with weak pricing for some time. Its full-year 2012 and Q1 2013 losses were due largely to this factor.

Last month, AK Steel posted a Q1 loss of $9.9 million ($0.07 per share), which was narrower than Q1 2012's $11.8 million ($0.11). Net sales were down over that time span, however, dropping by 9.2%, to $1.37 billion.

Fool contributor Eric Volkman has no position in AK Steel. Nor does The Motley Fool. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.