NEW YORK—Alcoa Inc., the largest aluminum company in the United States, reported quarterly earnings that slightly exceeded Wall Street analysts’ expectations on Monday after the closing bell.
Alcoa is the first major company to report on its second-quarter earnings, kicking off an earnings season that could give investors clues as to how the U.S. economy is faring.
The Pittsburgh-based company reported a loss of $2 million from continuing operations, including special one-time items of $63 million. That comes to a break-even $0.00 in earnings per share.
Without one-time items, profits were $61 million, or $0.06 per common share. The per-share results were 81 percent below the same quarter in 2011, when the company had a net income of $322 million, or $0.28 per share.
“Although aluminum prices are down, the fundamentals of the aluminum market remain sound with strong demand and tight supply, and Alcoa is successfully capitalizing on accelerating demand in high-growth end markets such as aerospace and automotive,” said Alcoa Chairman and CEO Klaus Kleinfeld in a statement Monday.
“The market has come back into balance or even in a deficit. The physical demand continues to be strong,” Kleinfeld expounded on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” program.
Topline revenues at the company fell 10 percent, to $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the same period last year.
Alcoa enjoys the most growth in times of global economic expansion due to new construction, infrastructure expansion, and manufacturing activity. Overall, demand for aluminum has been weak as the global economy struggled for growth. The entire industry has suffered from lower aluminum prices, especially since Chinese economic growth has been slowing.
Demand in the near- to medium-term from automakers will be high, analysts say. Automakers have enjoyed good sales, and ongoing pressure to increase fuel efficiency has meant that automakers are using more aluminum instead of steel in manufacturing vehicles. Demand from the aerospace industry should also remain relatively high.
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