STEEL WCI lists 3rd month of profits

Rising steel prices gave the mill's bottom line a boost.
WARREN -- WCI Steel earned $8.9 million on sales of $55.1 million in April, its third consecutive profitable month since it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last September.
Reports that WCI filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Akron show the company earned $1.9 million in March on sales of $53.6 million and earned $1.7 million in February on sales of $48.3 million.
Rising steel prices helped to boost profits in April, even though its sales were comparable to previous months.
The company had operating income of $9.8 million for the month, but the total was diminished by $303,000 in interest payments, some other expenses, plus $586,000 in professional fees for attorneys, accountants and other professionals related to WCI's bankruptcy case.
For the period from September 2003 through April, WCI reported a net loss of $85.8 million on sales of $341.1 million. Tim Roberts, a company spokesman, said $81 million of that loss is reduction in asset value related to an audit. The audit results were effective Oct. 21.
Cost totals
Employment costs totaled $10.9 million in April, about 25 percent of the company's operating costs, and raw materials cost of $20.9 million.
Accounts receivable, payments the company is waiting to receive from customers, totaled $75.7 million at the end of April.
WCI officials have said they hope to emerge from bankruptcy protection by sometime in July.
Two proposals for reorganizing the company's debts have been submitted to the bankruptcy court, one by WCI, with funding from its parent company, New York-based Renco Group, and one by a group of creditors, which together hold $324 million of WCI's secured bonds debt.
A disclosure hearing on the competing reorganization plans is set for 8:30 a.m. June 8 in the Akron bankruptcy court.