Moody’s upgrades AK Steel, notes

Moody's Investors Service said it upgraded AK Steel Corp.’s corporate family rating to B2 from B3 and probability of default rating to B2-PD from B3-PD.

At the same time, the agency upgraded the senior secured notes to B1 from B2, senior unsecured note ratings to B3 from Caa1, senior secured shelf ratings to provisional B1 from provisional B2 and senior unsecured shelf rating to provisional B3 from provisional Caa1.

The SGL-2 speculative grade liquidity rating was affirmed.

The outlook is stable.

Moody’s said the upgrade acknowledges AK Steel's improved operating performance as it continues to execute on its strategy to shift its business profile to more value added business from commodity spot business and enhance margins.

Despite the roughly 15% decrease in shipments in 2016 over 2015, gross and operating profit margins in 2016 (including Moody's standard adjustments) increased to 14.2% and 3.9% from 10% and 2.4%, respectively, the agency added.

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