Alcoa Inc. on Wednesday also forecast an 11 percent increase in worldwide aluminum demand for the rest of the year. The lightweight metal is used in everything from airplanes to cars to houses.
Even though Alcoa reported a 71 percent drop in third-quarter profit from a year earlier, the results were a relief after three straight quarterly losses.
“We do clearly see growth, substantial growth ... in China,” Alcoa CEO Klaus Kleinfeld told analysts and reporters after the company reported results. “(The) second half of the year is clearly better than the first half in many industries and many regions.”
The Pittsburgh-based company said rising demand from several industries, especially automakers, lifted its revenue compared with the prior three months. Alcoa earned $77 million, or 8 cents per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30. That compared with profit of $268 million, or 33 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue tumbled 34 percent to $4.62 billion from the same period year, but was up 9 percent from the second quarter of 2009. The latest results partly reflected intense cost-cutting by Alcoa.
