AK Steel bonds down despite earnings beat; Freeport falls on wider loss; Consol mixed

By Stephanie N. Rotondo

Seattle, April 26 – A round of fresh earnings was helping move distressed bonds around on Tuesday, even as overall liquidity was muted.

Investors are sitting on the sidelines waiting to see what the Federal Reserve will say in its two-day policy meeting that began Tuesday. The meeting concludes Wednesday, with a press conference scheduled thereafter.

AK Steel Holdings Corp. came out with its first-quarter results on Tuesday, showing a considerably narrower loss that beat expectations. Its net loss dropped year over year, to $13.6 million, or 8 cents per share, from $306.3 million, or $1.72 per share.

However, the market did not appear to react positively to the news, as the bonds finished the day with a weaker tone.

Also down on the day was Freeport-McMoran Inc., which saw its quarterly net loss nearly double year over year.

Consol Energy Inc. meantime swung to a loss for its first quarter. Those bonds ended the session mixed.

On the upside, Teck Resources Ltd. posted a surprise profit for the quarter, due in part to a strong U.S. dollar – which the company uses to sell its goods – and a weak Canadian dollar – which the company uses for expense purposes.

That debt ticked up after the results.

Looking ahead, Intelsat SA is scheduled to release its first-quarter earnings on Thursday.

In Tuesday trading, a trader saw the 7¼% notes due 2020 falling 1½ points to 71.

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