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May 10, 2006 — Wheeling-Pittsburgh Corp., the holding company of Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp., reported a net loss of $2.1 million on net sales of $437.0 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2006.

The $2.1 million net loss ($(0.15) per basic and diluted share) compares to net income of $8.1 million ($0.57 per basic share and $0.56 per diluted share) for first quarter of 2005. The $437.0 million net sales compares to net sales of $399.5 million for the first quarter of 2005. Net sales included $14.8 million for the first quarter of 2006 and $12.9 million for the first quarter of 2005 from the sale of excess raw materials.

Net sales of steel products totaled $422.2 million on steel shipments of 620,668 tons ($680 per ton), which compares to $386.6 million net sales of steel products for the first quarter of 2005 on steel shipments of 522,803 tons ($739 per ton). The increase in net sales was due to higher steel shipments and higher sales of excess raw materials, offset by a lower average selling price of steel products. Steel shipments during the first quarter of 2005 were adversely affected by the basic oxygen furnace ductwork collapse, which occurred in December 2004.

Cost of sales totaled $408.1 million as compared to cost of sales of $355.9 million for the first quarter of 2005. The current cost of sales, which included costs related to the sale of excess raw materials of $13.2 million, was reduced by a $7.3 million insurance recovery applicable to prior-year claims. Cost of sales for the first quarter of 2005 included the costs related to sale of excess raw materials of $7.4 million and was reduced by $4.4 million related to the receipt of an environmental settlement applicable to prior-year claims.

Cost of sales of steel products sold totaled $402.2 million ($648 per ton), which compares to first quarter 2005 cost of sales of steel products sold of $352.9 million ($675 per ton). The $49.3 million increase in cost of steel products sold resulted principally from an increase in the volume of steel products sold, offset by a $27 per ton reduction in the cost of steel products sold. The decrease in the cost to produce steel products resulted principally from a decrease in the cost of scrap, offset, in part, by increases in the cost of certain other raw materials used in the steelmaking process.

"While our first quarter loss represented an improvement from the fourth quarter of 2005, it was a disappointment given current demand for our products. Importantly, however, we continue to make progress in implementing key initiatives of our long-term strategic plan," said James G. Bradley, Wheeling-Pittsburgh Chairman and CEO. "Our Hot Strip Mill roll changer project was a success, the EAF is consistently producing at higher rates and the rehabilitation of the Mountain State Carbon coke plant is well underway. We expect to see benefits to our performance as these projects are completed."

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