The Associated Press

MIDDLETOWN - The former chief executive officer of AK Steel Corp. has received "significantly less" in a settlement with the company than the $51 million he wanted for severance and retirement pay, the company's management said.

AK Steel informed federal regulators Wednesday of the settlement with Richard M. Wardrop Jr., but declined to reveal the amount. The payment will have no effect on AK Steel's earnings or liquidity, the company told the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company has steel operations in Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Kentucky, as well as tubular steel plants in Ohio and Indiana, and employs about 8,800 people.

Company spokesman Alan McCoy declined to comment Thursday beyond the terms of the disclosure to the SEC. A telephone message seeking comment was left at Wardrop's home.

Wardrop resigned as chairman and CEO last September, along with president John G. Hritz, in an agreement with AK Steel's board after years of multimillion-dollar losses and a decline in the stock price. The agreement ends Wardrop's arbitration with the company, management said.

Hritz had demanded payment of $11.1 million for benefits he said the company owed him. AK Steel disclosed to the SEC in March that it had reached a confidential settlement with Hritz for less than that.

James L. Wainscott, who had been AK Steel's chief financial officer and senior vice president, was promoted to president and CEO. Robert H. Jenkins, a member of AK Steel's board since 1996, became the board's chairman.

Wardrop's payment came entirely from an account AK Steel maintains for benefit payments to executives, management said. The company told the SEC in the third quarter of 2003 that the account contained $51.3 million then.

McCoy declined to say how much is in the account. Other executives who have left have been paid from that trust as well, McCoy said.

Shares in AK closed at $4.41, down 17 cents.