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• Sales of 284,000 tons in the quarter
• Performance adversely impacted by both scheduled and unscheduled outages
• EBITDA for the quarter of negative $11.4 million
• Adequate liquidity with $48.6 million borrowed at the end of the quarter on the $150 million revolving credit facility
• Focused efforts to improve operating performance and reliability

WARREN, OHIO, August 9, 2007 - WCI Steel, Inc. (OTC: WCIS.PK) announced today a net loss of $12.5 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2007, and a net loss of $16.8 million for the six-month period. Second quarter and year-to-date results were negatively impacted by the BOF baghouse installation and unscheduled outages in the blast furnace in the second quarter and the BOF vessel damage incurred in the first quarter. For the quarter, the company reported:

• Shipments of 284,000 tons
• Revenues from product sales of $191.0 million, or $674 per ton
• EBITDA of negative $11.4 million
• Operating loss of $17.8 million
• Net loss of $12.5 million prior to the accrued PIK preferred dividend
• Net loss per share of $4.10 for the quarter

Michael C. Buenzow, interim president and chief executive officer, said: “Our performance in the quarter was unacceptable, reflecting operational difficulties, disappointing plant performance and a variety of cost challenges. The Board of Directors and management are moving decisively to improve operations, but we continue to experience under performance until operational improvement and cost reduction initiatives are fully implemented.

“The recent pressure on steel pricing, combined with weakness in some of our key market sectors going forward, makes it imperative that we work vigorously to reduce our costs and improve production and reliability,” Buenzow added. “In the one month I have been at WCI Steel, I am pleased at the efforts being taken to drive long-term positive change.”

Shipments of 284,000 tons in the quarter were in line with prior guidance. The average revenue rate of $674 per ton was $37 per ton better than the first quarter and $7 per ton above the guidance for this quarter. Revenue per ton in the second quarter was generally in line with the level experienced in the fourth quarter of 2006. Sales volume, although consistent with earlier projections, remained constrained by production and inventory limitations.

Second quarter production and sales volume were adversely affected by several factors:

• the inability to build inventory in the first quarter for second quarter shipments due to the late January damage to one of two BOF vessels,
• the one-week scheduled outage related to the BOF baghouse installation in April,
• the difficult start-up of the blast furnace after the BOF baghouse installation that resulted in an additional two weeks of unscheduled outages, and
• the ongoing challenges of stabilizing operations at the hot strip mill with only two furnaces operating until start-up of the walking beam furnace.

Combined these items reduced production and sales by at least 75,000 tons in the quarter. During the quarter, $11.1 million of excess idle costs related to the April and May outages were incurred. Including the impact of lost profit contribution, the total impact of the reduced volume in the quarter likely exceeded $20 million. Although BOF production improved in June and July, operational challenges in the hot strip mill and finishing operations continue.

Cynthia B. Bezik, chief financial officer, noted: “At the end of the quarter, we had $5.3 million of cash on hand and $48.6 million borrowed under the $150 million revolving credit facility. Our borrowings under the revolving credit facility increased by $18.1 million since the end of the first quarter due to the difficulties encountered during the quarter and our capital spending program. We expect our borrowings to increase for the balance of the year primarily due to the normal seasonal build of iron ore, capital spending and the business outlook. Liquidity going forward remains adequate to support our planned capital expenditures.”

Capital Expenditures
Construction of the new walking beam furnace at the hot strip mill remains on schedule, with start-up planned for January 2008. Total project cost is now estimated at $41.6 million, of which $37.4 million is capital. Of the $37.4 million capital portion of the project, $21.9 million has been spent, with the balance planned to be spent in the second half of 2007 and into early 2008. During construction, production will continue to be restricted at the hot strip mill. Once fully operational, the walking beam furnace is expected to generate annual benefits of between $10 million and $14 million due to energy savings and increased custom product sales.

Capital expenditures were $19.0 million in the second quarter and $37.3 million year-to-date. Second-half capital spending is forecasted at slightly more than $24 million, largely related to the walking beam furnace project.

Outlook
Third quarter sales volume is expected to be about 305,000 tons, with the fourth quarter sales volume anticipated at the same level. As a result, sales volume for the second half of the year is projected to total about 610,000 tons, a decrease of 70,000 tons compared to earlier guidance. The reduced volume in the second half of the year reflects ongoing production constraints in the hot strip mill during the installation of the walking beam furnace. Based on the production constraints, total shipments for the year will be limited to approximately 1.2 million tons, including the sale of semi-finished steel.

Pricing for the third quarter is expected to average about $35 per ton below second quarter pricing. In addition to price weakness, third quarter results will be adversely impacted by rapidly escalating raw material costs, particularly coke and certain alloys, and by the ongoing production limitations. Rapidly escalating coke prices are expected to add about $30 per ton to our finished steel costs in the third quarter. As a result, EBITDA in the third quarter is forecasted to be break-even to modestly positive. Although some steel pricing improvement is anticipated in the fourth quarter, the full impact of escalating coke prices will not be realized until the fourth quarter. Fourth quarter results will also be negatively impacted by start-up efforts related to the walking beam furnace. In 2008, with the walking beam furnace fully operational, annual production and shipment levels should exceed 1.3 million tons.

Capital Structure and Background Information
On May 1, 2006, WCI Steel, Inc., a Delaware corporation, acquired substantially all the assets of WCI Steel, Inc., an Ohio corporation, (Old WCI), in accordance with its Plan of Reorganization. On July 3, 2007, WCI Steel completed the final distribution of common shares to the creditors of Old WCI and now has 4,251,096 common shares outstanding.

The 5,512,500 shares of preferred stock currently outstanding have a 10 percent “payment-in-kind” (PIK) dividend, payable semi-annually on May 1 and November 1. Each share of preferred stock converts into 1.2 shares of common stock May 1, 2008. Assuming conversion of the 5,512,500 shares of preferred stock and with the current shares of common stock, WCI Steel has approximately 10.9 million common shares outstanding on an “as if” converted basis.

Under the Indenture for the $100 million of senior secured notes, WCI Steel plans to exchange the existing notes for new notes with similar terms that will be registered with the SEC. On April 27, 2007, WCI Steel filed its initial Registration Statement on Form S-4 with the SEC to initiate the process to exchange the notes. On July 25, 2007, Amendment No. 1 to the Registration Statement was filed with the SEC. Subject to SEC approval, the company expects to exchange the notes for registered notes in the third quarter of this year.

Additional information on WCI Steel’s financial performance, including audited year-end financial statements, is available on the company’s website www.wcisteel.com under the “Investors” section.

Conference Call
You are invited to listen to the live broadcast of WCI Steel’s conference call, in which management will discuss second quarter results and the outlook for the third quarter of 2007, today at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The conference call will be available on the Internet at www.wcisteel.com, under “Investors” tab. The call will be archived and available for subsequent replay.

About WCI Steel, Inc.
WCI Steel’s strength is built on “Custom Steel. Custom Service. Creative Solutions.” As an integrated producer of value-added, custom steel products serving niche markets, WCI Steel emphasizes customer and technical service. WCI Steel currently produces 185 grades of flat-rolled custom and commodity steel products at its Warren, Ohio facility. WCI Steel focuses on a wide range of custom flat-rolled steel products, including high carbon, alloy, ultra high strength, and heavy-gauge galvanized steel and on developing closer, more responsive relationships with customers. Major customers are steel converters, processors, service centers, construction product companies, and to a lesser extent, automobile manufacturers.

Forward-Looking Statements
Information contained in this release, other than historical information, should be considered “forward-looking statements” within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

WCI Steel cautions that there are various important factors that could cause actual events to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements; accordingly, there can be no assurance that such indicated events will occur. Among such factors are: general economic and business conditions; demand for WCI Steel’s products; changes in industry capacity and levels of imports of steel or steel products; industry trends, including product pricing, competition; the loss of any significant customer; pricing and availability of raw materials and energy; power outages or curtailments; availability of qualified personnel; ability to train the existing workforce; plant operating performance; major equipment failures; the timing and completion of capital projects; changes in, or the failure or inability to comply with, government regulation, including, without limitation, environmental regulations; the outcome of legal matters and other risk factors; and the effect of these various risk factors on the company’s future cash flows, debt levels, liquidity and financial position.

Reference is also made to the detailed explanation of the many factors and risks that may cause such predictive statements to turn out differently, set forth in the company’s Amendment No. 1 to Form S-4 filed with the SEC.

Except as required by law, WCI Steel does not assume any responsibility to update any forward-looking statements to reflect future developments or events.

WCI Steel, Inc. Contacts:
ANALYSTS: Cynthia B. Bezik, Vice President and CFO, 330-841-8301
MEDIA: Belinda Cavender, 330-841-8214



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