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Wheeling Pittsburgh Operating Loss is $4.5 Million
WHEELING, W.Va. -- Wheeling Pittsburgh Corp., the holding company of Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp., today reported an operating loss of $4.5 million in the first quarter of 2004. These results represent a significant improvement over the operating loss of $21 million reported in the fourth quarter of 2003.On a per share basis, the reported loss for the first quarter equaled 70 cents vs. a reported loss of $2.49 per share in the previous quarter. Net sales for the period totaled $274.2 million on shipments of 538,701 tons of steel products, as compared to net sales of $237.1 million on shipments of 542,211 tons of steel products shipped in the previous quarter.The company emerged from bankruptcy pursuant to a plan of reorganization that became effective on Aug. 1, 2003. The average selling price for steel shipped during the first quarter was $509 per ton vs. $437 in the previous quarter. Cost of goods sold per ton averaged $475 in the first quarter, up from the $436 per ton reported in the fourth quarter of 2003. "In addition to surcharges going into effect, we worked through our backlog of orders in the quarter," says James G. Bradley, president and chief executive officer. "We feel that despite higher input costs, we hit our stride in the last month of the quarter, which was a strong improvement over January and February."As a result of continued high demand, we expect pricing to continue to be significantly higher in the second quarter than in the first quarter," Bradley continues. "While we expect that costs will rise as well, we do not expect that rise to be nearly as dramatic. With the improvement in both pricing and demand, we look forward to an advantageous environment for the balance of 2004.""