The Middletown-based steel maker said Tuesday that it anticipates better-than-expected earnings in the just-completed third quarter. AK stock hit 52-week highs Monday and Tuesday, and closed Tuesday at $10.06, up 36 cents.

Thanks to higher-than expected shipments and higher selling prices, AK said it expects operating profit for the three months ended Sept. 30 will be $61 a ton, about $25 a ton higher than reported in the second quarter.

Third-quarter shipments were 1.54 million tons, 17,000 tons more than previously forecast. AK, which is expected to report third-quarter results by the end of October, is likely to report a third-quarter profit of 46 cents a share, according to analysts surveyed by Bloomberg Business News.

"Our recovery continues to build momentum, and we look forward to reporting another profitable quarter,'' AK chief executive officer James Wainscott said.

In the third quarter last year, AK reported a net loss of $277 million, or $2.56 a share.

Monday, AK's shares gained in heavy trading after a JP Morgan analyst raised his 2005 earnings estimate.

The company sells about three-fourths of its total production under fixed-price contracts.

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