For the first time in the history of the company, AK Steel has reported profits of over $100 per ton, a long-time goal by AK management.

At $109/ton, AK's third quarter net income was over four times what it was one year ago. AK Steel made an income of $108.4 million in the three months ending with September in 2007, compared to $26 million for the same period in 2006.

At the same time, sales and shipments for the third quarter of 2007 were only 11% and 5% higher, respectively than a year ago.

AK Steel has this to say about the immediate future:

"AK Steel said that it expects its fourth-quarter 2007 shipments to be comparable to third-quarter 2007 levels, with average per-ton selling prices slightly lower than for its third-quarter 2007 level.  The company also anticipates higher costs in the fourth quarter, as compared to the third quarter, including $20 million of higher planned maintenance outage costs, and an increase of $30 million for LIFO expense.   AK Steel said it expects to report an operating profit of approximately $70 per ton in the fourth quarter of 2007."