AK Steel said today second quarter profits rose 32 percent on record sales and shipments.

The West Chester, Ohio, steelmaker reported net income of $145.2 million, or $1.29 per diluted share, on sales of $2.24 billion vs. earnings of $109.9 million, or 98 cents per diluted share, and sales of $1.87 million in the year-ago quarter. Shipments increased 2 percent to 1.7 million tons while the average selling price rose 18 percent to $1,287 per ton.

Year-ago results reflected a pretax, non-cash charge of $24.7 million related to a pension plan.

The company forecast operating profits of $170 to $175 per ton for the third quarter, up from a record $137 per ton in the second quarter. Shipments will decline to about 1.6 million tons because of the seasonal slowdown in auto production and a five-day outage at its Middletown, Ohio, mill, AK Steel said. Raw materials and energy costs are expected to increase in the quarter.

AK Steel announced yesterday it will invest $21 million at its Butler plant to expand production of steels used in power generation equipment and electrical distribution transformers.