United States Steel Corp. reported fourth quarter net income of $462 million, compared to third quarter 2004 net income of $354 million, and a fourth quarter 2003 net loss of $22 million.
For the full year, U. S. Steel reported net income of $1.085 billion, compared to a 2003 net loss of $463 million.
U. S. Steel President and CEO John P. Surma said, "Favorable global steel markets coupled with our acquisitions and ongoing cost reduction efforts resulted in record income for U. S. Steel for both the fourth quarter and full year. Noteworthy accomplishments during 2004 included successful integration of the National and Serbian facilities we acquired in 2003, and substantial cash generation, which enabled us to strengthen our balance sheet and our financial capability to support future growth initiatives."
The company reported fourth quarter income from operations of $551 million, compared with income from operations of $494 million in the third quarter of 2004 and a loss from operations of $34 million in the fourth quarter of 2003. For the year 2004, the company reported income from operations of $1.584 billion, versus a full-year 2003 loss from operations of $730 million.
First quarter 2005 average realized prices for the Flat-rolled segment are expected to remain in line with fourth quarter levels; however, results will be negatively affected by higher costs for raw materials and natural gas, as well as slightly lower shipments. For full-year 2005, Flat-rolled shipments are expected to be about 15.4 million tons, reflecting the planned outage at the Gary No. 13 blast furnace.
For U. S. Steel Europe, first quarter average realized prices are expected to be moderately higher than in the fourth quarter of 2004, with shipments remaining about the same and costs for raw materials increasing significantly. USSE shipments for full-year 2005 are projected to increase by about 15 percent to approximately 5.8 million net tons due mainly to higher operating levels at the Serbian facilities following the planned mid-year startup of a second blast furnace.
California Steel Industries reported net income for 2004 of $109.34 million on sales of $1.250 billion, both record results for the company. Fourth quarter 2004 sales were $339.8 million, for net income of $35.1 million.
CSI shipped a record level 2.11 million tons of steel products in 2004. Fourth quarter shipments totaled 451,799 tons. EBITDA for 2004 totaled $224.0 million, and for fourth quarter totaled $67.9 million.
"We are obviously pleased with our results for 2004," said Masakazu Kurushima, president and CEO. "While the market for steel was the strongest we have seen in many years, both at the demand and price levels, it is important to note that CSI had prepared to meet these market conditions, and our entire team responded to meet our customers' requirements," he continued.
AK Steel reported that its adjusted 2004 fourth quarter pre-tax income was $73.7 million, compared to an adjusted pre-tax loss of $65.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2003.
Including the corridor charge and the early debt retirement charge, the company's fourth quarter 2004 results were a net loss of $102.8 million, compared to a net loss, including the applicable corridor charge, of $163.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2003.
Net sales for the fourth quarter totaled a company record of $1.433.8 billion on record shipments of 1,631,400 tons, compared to net sales of $1.054.0 billion on shipments of 1,563,700 tons in the year-ago fourth quarter. The company said that its average steel selling price for the fourth quarter of 2004 was a record $878 per ton, 1 percent higher than the $866 per ton average for the third quarter of 2004, and a 31 percent increase in average selling price from the fourth quarter of 2003.
AK Steel said continued strong global demand for its steel products resulted in increased shipment volumes and higher spot market selling prices. In addition to higher spot market prices, the company said its average selling price also reflected the benefits of higher steel surcharges for raw materials and energy, which partially offset unprecedented high prices for raw materials and natural gas.
For the year ended December 31, AK Steel reported net income of $238.4 million, compared to a net loss of $560.4 million. The 2004 results reflect a tax benefit of $223.8 million, a net gain of $201.4 million from the sale of non-core assets, net income from discontinued operations of $6.5 million and the previously discussed fourth quarter corridor charge, as well as total pre-tax charges of $8.7 million associated with the early retirement of debt.
Net sales for 2004 were a record $5.217.3 billion, on record shipments of 6,252,600 tons. By comparison, net sales for 2003 were $4.041.7 billion, on shipments of 5,830,800 tons. The company said its average steel selling price in 2004 was $833 per ton, an increase of 23 percent over its 2003 average selling price of $677 per ton.
AK Steel said that it expects to generate substantially higher operating income in 2005 than in 2004, despite facing further price increases for steelmaking raw material inputs. The higher input costs are expected to be more than offset by a combination of higher contract selling prices, higher average spot market selling prices, surcharges, and continued controllable cost reductions and operating efficiencies. The company said it expects to generate an operating profit of approximately $500 million on shipments of approximately 6.3 million tons, equating to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of approximately $700 million.