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| add to favorites | the WARN notice does not require Ormet to lay people off | Cars |
NEW YORK, July 31, an independent U.S. producer of primary aluminum, is deciding whether to cut aluminum production at its Hannibal, Ohio, smelter and the extent to which its employees would be affected, it said in a press release.The statement confirmed that it sent a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN, to the 833 hourly and 149 salaried employees at its smelter earlier this week letting them know that there may be production cuts and layoffs, but that it has not yet decided the extent of either."At this time no definitive decisions have been made as to the extent of the layoffs. The number of employees that will be affected is, as of yet, undetermined," it said.Its 266,000 tonnes-per-year smelter has six potlines, only five of which have been running since May 20. It said it was forced to shut some output because of a shortage of alumina.Raw material bauxite is turned into alumina, which is then smelted into aluminum.
A spokeman at the United Steelworkers union that represents Ormet's hourly workers said conversations this week with company managers suggest they may run two to four potlines. He said the WARN notice does not require Ormet to lay people off, but they are required by law to issue the notice in case they do need to shut operations."In all probability there will be a layoff. I just don't know how much. I don't think they know either," the rep said."I don't know if it will be permanent, either. Their letter says 'for an indefinite period.' But they said if the market comes back they plan to run things full out," he added.A court dispute with Glencore International AG Read more:titanium plate |
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| add to favorites | A Tennessee company has acquired full ownership of the Gramercy Alumina plant | Cars |
A Tennessee company has acquired full ownership of the Gramercy Alumina plant and says production will be at full capacity by the end of the year.Noranda Aluminum Holding Co. of Franklin, Tenn., announced that it acquired the 50 percent of the plant owned by Century Aluminum Co., along with 49 percent of a bauxite mine in Jamaica that supplies raw material.The plant extracts alumina from bauxite.Terms of the deal were not disclosed by the privately held company.Gramercy Alumina supplies almost all of the alumina that used by Noranda's aluminum smelter in New Madrid, Mo."Along with the senior management of this facility, we believe this to be our best shot at growth and sustainability," plant spokesman Curt Fordham said Wednesday.The company's aluminum output supplies three rolling mills owned by subsidiary Noranda USA, which produce aluminum products.About 10 percent of the plant's work force has been laid off in recent months, but some employees have been recalled to their jobs. The plant's work force now stands at about 470 employees, Fordham said.The Noranda-Century partnership took control of the plant from Kaiser Aluminum in 2004.
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| add to favorites | China has launched its investment policy | Cars |
A densely packed country trying to keep its economy roaring ahead by laying its hands on natural resources, living alongside a largely empty region with huge mineral wealth and fewer inhabitants every year.Russia and China might operate a tactical alliance, but there is already tension between them over the Far East. Moscow is wary of large numbers of Chinese settlers moving into this region, bringing timber and mining companies in their wake.China has moved aggressively to fill a vacuum left by the United States in recent years, as the U.S. focused on wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the global economic crisis sapped its economy.
China is rising while the U.S. is declining in Latin America. China is all over this region. They are following a state-driven policy to expand their peaceful presence.China is beefing up its embassies throughout Latin America, opening Confucian centers to expand Chinese culture, sending high-level trade delegations throughout the region and opening the door for ordinary Chinese to visit Machu Picchu, Rio and other tourism hot spots.China Petrochemical Corp., the country’s second-biggest oil company, in June agreed to buy Geneva-based Addax Petroleum Corp. for $7.6 billion in China’s biggest overseas takeover to date.Purchasing Addax, which has oil reserves in Iraq’s Kurdish territory, shows Chinese oil companies are “going for bigger transactions. “These deals seem to reflect an appetite we have not seen before.”The world’s fastest-growing major economy consumes more than a third of the world’s aluminum output, a quarter of its copper production, almost a tenth of its oil and accounts for more than half of trading in iron ore. Last year, China bought $211 billion worth of iron ore, refined copper, crude oil and alumina, according to government data.Australia has signed a record 41.3 billion US dollar deal to supply Chinese energy giant PetroChina with liquefied natural gas, officials said.The agreement, which represents the biggest foreign investment in Australia, is for PetroChina to buy 2.25 million tonnes a year over the next two decades from ExxonMobil's Gorgon gas field.Industry analysts predict that Chinese-financed mergers and acquisitions this year will double their level of $52.1 bn. in 2008The Chinese are all over the place.
China has launched its investment policy because of crippling pressure on its own natural resources in a country where the population has almost trebled from 500 million to 1.3 billion in 50 years. China is hungry - for land, food and energy. While accounting for a fifth of the world's population, its oil consumption has risen in the past decade and Africa is now providing a third of it; imports of steel, copper and aluminum have also risen.China is also desperate for new markets to sell goods. And Africa, with non-existent health and safety rules to protect against shoddy and dangerous goods, is the perfect destination. The result of China's demand for raw materials and its sales of products to Africa is that turnover in trade between Africa and China has risen to billions. China is investing large amounts of money in Iran's energy sector. $70 billion is projected to be invested in gas and oil refineries there.
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| add to favorites | May imports should have included some copper for the State Reserves Bureau | Cars |
May imports should have included some copper for the State Reserves Bureau (SRB), which had imported refined copper for the past few months and supported the huge iflow. But rises in LME copper prices were reducing demand for imports both from merchants and the SRB, Zhu said, adding he expected imports to fall below 300,000 tonnes in June. "Chinese consumption is not supporting such large imports in coming months," Zhu added. Yingxi Yu, Barclays Capital's analyst in Singapore, said she expected imports to fall and therefore demand numbers to ease. "The increase in Shanghai stocks reflects what is happening in China. The picture will be for weaker import demand China, but the market will look to the rest of the world to make up for the slowdown there," she said. Stocks of refined copper cathode in Shanghai Futures Exchange warehouses rose nearly 60 percent, or 11,153 tonnes, in May.
Hitting all-time high for the second consecutive month because of demand from investors who had bought the metal for stockpiling. But the high level of imports has increased supply in the domestic market, while demand from stainless steel mills, the top users of nickel in China, remained lukewarm, traders said. That is driving down prices and reducing new orders for imports. Around 50,000 tonnes of refined nickel, about two months' consumption in China, were stored in private storage places, traders said last week. Locations of the estimated stocks are hard to identify as China does not have an exchange to trade the nickel contract and store the metal. China is the world's top producer of primary aluminium, but it still imported 259,095 tonnes of the metal in May.
The imports were down from a record 362,400 tonnes in April but up 2,414 percent from the same month last year. Large imports and a 14 percent month-on-month rise in domestic production in May have boosted stocks of primary aluminium ingot to over 500,000 tonnes from about 400,000 tonnes a month earlier in China, traders and smelter officials estimated. Those stocks were stored in private and public warehouses and included 165,374 tonnes in Shanghai Futures Exchange's warehouses as of June 18. "Around 200,000 tonnes are stored in warehouses in Guangdong province. Only in Nanhai city, stocks increased by 10,000 tonnes every week," an executive at a large aluminium smelter said. Smelter officials said domestic demand was weaker from April, though some large aluminium smelters were reducing spot selling to support prices. But steady Chinese prices had reopened the arbitrage window and boosted bookings for spot imports in late May, traders said. The bulk of that booked metal was likely to arrive in June and would boost imports to around 300,000 tonnes this month.
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| add to favorites | MARKETS-METALS/RESTARTS =2 | Cars |
State-owned Dubai Aluminium Co said it aimed to bring on line the first phase of what would be the world's largest single aluminium smelter in December. The Emirates Aluminium plant in Abu Dhabi will have an initial 700,000 tonnes per year capacity, which will double when fully on line in 2013/14. [ID:nL9578767]ADVERTISEMENT March 25 - Eurasian Natural Resources Corp Plc's To learn more:titanium sheet for sale |
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| add to favorites | The completion of the valuation of postretirement obligations of the VEBA | Cars |
(a) material adverse changes in economic or industry conditions generally, including global financial markets; (b) the Company's inability to achieve the level of growth or other benefits anticipated by management, including those anticipated from the Company's acquisitions and other strategic investments and the integration of acquired businesses; (c) increases in the Company's costs, including the cost of energy, raw materials and freight costs, which the Company is unable to pass through to its customers; (d) pressure to reduce defense spending and demand for the Company's products used in defense applications as the U.S. and other governments are faced with competing national priorities; (e) changes in the markets served by the Company, including aerospace, defense, general engineering, automotive, distribution and other markets, including changes impacting the volume, price or mix of products sold by the Company and the Company's ability to flex production consistent with changing demand levels; (f) the Company's ability to lower energy costs, realize manufacturing efficiencies and complete its expansion and organic growth projects, equipment and facility upgrades to improve manufacturing and cost efficiencies and product expansions as planned and by targeted completion dates; (g) unfavorable changes in laws or regulations that impact the Company's operations and results; (h) the outcome of contingencies, including legal proceedings, government investigations and environmental remediation; (i) changes in accounting that affect the Company's reported earnings, operating income or results; and (j) other risk factors summarized in the Company's reports filed with the SEC, including the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K.
As more fully described in these reports, "non-run-rate" items are items that, while they may occur from period to period, are particularly material to results, impact costs primarily as a result of external market factors and may not occur in future periods if the same level of underlying performance were to occur. All information in this release is as of the date of the release.
The Company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the Company's expectations.Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Company cautions that results for the fourth quarter and full year ended 2011 contained in this press release are preliminary in nature and that statements in this press release including such results constitute forward-looking statements involving uncertainties that could cause such results, when final and set forth in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, to vary, perhaps materially, from those contained in this press release.
The factors that may cause final results to vary from the preliminary results contained in this press release include, among others, (i) the completion of the audit of the financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2011 and (ii) the completion of the valuation of postretirement obligations of the VEBA.
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| add to favorites | The product quality at Hawesville was up significantly | Cars |
You see the conversion cost coming down, most of that improvement came towards the end of the quarter and now that we've got all the third party contractors out of the plant, the unusual and high usage of maintenance and materials has abated and the volume importantly in the plant is now where it should be. So, we're no longer under absorbing our fixed costs.So in that respect, you'll see the impact of all those actions on the cost base in the current quarter and as we move forward in 2012.
Importantly, the product quality at Hawesville was up significantly. We returned back to the purity market this quarter. You'll see I'll talk about our net realizable prices, Q4 over Q3 in a moment, you'll see that impact there and our upgrade production was down.Turning to Mt. Holly, the safety performance at Mt. Holly was a bit below that plans usual high standards in the fourth quarter. Without a luck there is no pattern in the incidence there, management is very focused, plant management and ourselves and Alcoa are very focused on this and in fact, the performance has improved over the last couple of months.Production was up about 1% Q4 over Q3, with improvements in KPIs across the board. Quality was excellent this past quarter. We'll reach multi year highs for (inaudible) total premium production, obviously important for our revenue.
You see the conversion cost at Mt. Holly coming down nicely a big chunk of that was power cost, which abated a bit Q4 versus Q3.Moving to Grundartangi, we had a couple of bumps and safety performance also this quarter that have been said the plant has made terrific improvements over the last couple of years and when we look at the incidence during this past quarter. We know that most of them come from simple, risky behaviors in the plant and I'll take about behavioral base safety and were we're heading there at Grundartangi when I think about the items on which we'll be working in 2012.
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| add to favorites | Alcoa, BHP to Start Output at Alumar Refinery Expansion | Cars |
Alcoa Inc., the largest U.S. aluminum maker, and BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest mining company, said the expanded Alumar refinery will begin operating in the first quarter of 2010, a director said. The expansion, in the final stage of construction, will start test production of alumina in the first quarter of next year, said Nilson Ferraz, an Alumar production director, in an interview today. The companies are adding 2.1 million tons a year capacity to the plant in Maranhao state in northeastern Brazil. It now produces 1.4 million tons a year of alumina. “Commercial-quality production will start in second-half 2010,” Ferraz said from Sao Luis. The Alumar expansion, originally scheduled for 2008, was delayed partly because of cost overruns, BHP Billiton said earlier this year. Rio Tinto Alcan Inc., the world’s third-largest mining company, has a 10 percent stake in the expansion project. Alumina is a raw material used in primary aluminum production.
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| add to favorites | Alcoa deal to secure jobs | Cars |
Alcoa has reportedly struck a deal to ensure its controversial aluminium smelters continue operating for decades.
But environment groups have condemned the agreement, saying that in a time of climate change it is insane to power aluminum smelters with brown coal.
Alcoa has signed contracts with generator Loy Yang Power for smelters at Portland and Point Henry, near Geelong, until 2036.
The existing power contracts expire in 2016 and 2014.
After decades of subsidising cheap power, the Victorian government is not involved in the deal and the subsidies will end in 2016.
Mr Brumby said he was unaware of the cost or arrangements of the new deal.
'I think, importantly, it secures jobs for our state, in Geelong and at Portland,' he told Fairfax Radio.
Mr Brumby also welcomed a carbon reduction agreement between Alcoa and Loy Yang.
But Environment Victoria campaigns director Mark Wakeham said the agreement was only meaningful if it guaranteed electricity from a source other than coal.
'If Alcoa was serious about providing regional jobs it would be buying wind power from new projects in south-western Victoria and supplementing it with gas-fired power from the nearby Mortlake power station currently under construction and solar thermal power,' he said.
'In a time of climate change it is insane to power aluminum smelters with brown coal.
'Locking this behaviour in til 2036 defies belief. If power stations like Loy Yang are still operating in 2036, it will be all over for the climate.'
Greenpeace said the deal was risky business as any carbon tax would make it the most expensive fossil fuels.
'Its workers should be suspicious of a deal that looks as economically viable as selling sand in a desert,' Greenpeace climate campaigner Julien Vincent said.
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| add to favorites | Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. names corporate Vice President, Operations | Cars |
SteelOrbis - Reliance Steel&Aluminum Co. /quotes/comstock/13*!rs/quotes/nls/rs Monday announced today that as of April 1, 2010, Stephen P. Koch, will assume the title of Vice President, Operations for the Company and will oversee several of Reliance's subsidiaries.Mr. Koch joined Chapel Steel Corp. as a sales representative in 1988. In 2005, Reliance acquired Chapel Steel Corp. headquartered in Philadelphia. While at Chapel Steel, he held the positions of sales manager and Executive Vice President and was named President of Chapel Steel in June 2007."Since Reliance acquired Chapel Steel, we have been impressed by Steve's performance in managing Chapel Steel and its multiple facilities, especially during a turbulent economic period," said Reliant Steel&Aluminum Co. President and COO, Gregg J. Mollins. "This, among other things, convinced us that he was the right individual to take on more responsibility with respect to our business."
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| add to favorites | Navco acquires Temco | Cars |
North American Vehicle Components, LLC (Navco) announced the completion yesterday of its acquisition of Truck Equipment Manufacturing Company, Inc. (Temco), maker of steel and aluminum reservoirs and related components for heavy trucks, military vehicles and automotive applications and Temco's "Trick Tank," portable tanks for motor sports.
According to the announcement, all operating assets were purchased from New Dominion Bank via UCC-Article 9 Secured Party Sale. The transaction was completed on April 19, 2010. Navco, LLC, created for this acquisition, is co-owned by Jim Williamson and L.T. Slater. Williamson and Slater have partnered on several acquisitions in the past in industries ranging from industrial manufacturing to automotive test equipment.
"The completion of the acquisition represents a significant milestone for Navco," said Jim Williamson, president of Navco. "Temco has long been well respected as a leading manufacturer of steel and aluminum tanks for heavy trucks, military vehicles and many other applications. The swift economic downturn has forced the company to make this change to return to a position of real financial strength. We are happy to have completed this deal and are ready to serve the Temco customer base and new customers with higher than ever levels of customer service."
"With our background in specialty manufacturing, we anticipate that the transition for Temco's customers and suppliers will be seamless, if not more efficient," Williamson noted. "And we are proud to keep all of Temco's employees in America at the two manufacturing plants in Charlotte and Blacksburg."
The integration of both companies is expected to begin immediately.
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| add to favorites | Earnings Cheer Aside, Alcoa's Outlook Looks Dim | Cars |
Any cheery notes in Alcoa's kickoff to earnings season Monday aren't likely to linger.
The battered aluminum maker is expected to show that second-quarter sales and profit improved compared with a year earlier. But any gains will come against a backdrop of reduced analyst expectations for the quarter.
Reasons for pessimism vary from low aluminum prices to slow growth in China to a tepid world economic climate. This reflects the reality that Alcoa still has big hurdles to clear and likely will face tough going for the rest of the year.
The biggest concern is the price of aluminum, which has fallen about 12% since the beginning of the year. Alcoa's profitability is tightly tied to the metal's price. There isn't much hope for a quick rebound as analysts expect prices to remain under pressure this year due to spotty demand globally for construction materials, cars, cans and appliances.
Making matters worse are still-high aluminum inventories on the London Metals Exchange, which at 4.4 million metric tons aren't far off a record of 4.6 million metric tons in late January. Not only can such inventory levels keep pressure on prices, but they also mean buyers will want to work through existing stocks before buying new material.
In light of this, Alcoa must become a cheaper producer, and fast. It is already behind competitors such as Russia's UC Rusal and global miner Rio Tinto in terms of productions costs.
Alcoa is trying to catch up with a project in the Brazilian Amazon and a joint venture in Saudi Arabia, both of which should lower costs in coming months. Alcoa Chief Executive Klaus Kleinfeld has also been on a cost-cutting drive, shutting plants, shedding 60,000 employees and selling noncore assets.
And some competitors may help Alcoa with their own moves to shore up the aluminum market. In China, the world's biggest producer of the metal, more than a dozen aluminum smelters are planning to idle about 700,000 metric tons of capacity because prices have been so low.
None of this may be enough to quickly lend a hand to Alcoa's beaten-down stock, though. For that, investors may have to wait for the relief that will only come from a more-certain economic rebound.
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| add to favorites | Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:AA) Looking To Shake ‘Worst’ Tag | Cars |
This year's worst performing Dow stock, Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:AA), is looking to shake the tag as it works hard to increase profit.
Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:AA) company shares was at 10.59 at the end of the day's trading on 7/21/2010. There's been a -21.1% change in the stock price over the past 3 months.
Not helped by the global economic downturn, and a worldwide drop in aluminium prices, Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:AA) has managed to climb back into profit in Q2.
With news that the global demand for aluminium is looking to rise in the second half of the year, analysts now see Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:AA) as a good long-term bet for growth – as long as the economic recovery can continue on a global level.
If you're looking to make a move on the Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:AA) shares, make sure you take a look at this analyst advice, from a broad range of industry specialists:We will be monitoring the Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:AA) stock price for developments over the next couple of weeks.
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| add to favorites | Copper Falls From Five-Month High on Concern Slow Growth May Limit Demand | Cars |
Copper prices fell from a five- month high on speculation that tepid economic growth signals slack metal demand.
Reports last week indicated that the U.S. housing market remains depressed and unemployment may continue to stifle the recovery. Copper probably needs positive economic news to extend the rally, Citigroup Inc. in London said today in a report.
"Copper is a little overbought," said Matthew Zeman, a metal trader at LaSalle Futures Group in Chicago. "It's teetering around the top of the range, so to see a pullback is not surprising."
Copper futures for December delivery fell 2.1 cents, or 0.6 percent, to settle at $3.597 a pound at 1:24 p.m. on the Comex in New York. Earlier, the metal reached $3.644, the highest level for a most-active contract since April 12.
On the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months fell $35, or 0.4 percent, to $7,910 a metric ton （$3.59 a pound）.
On Sept. 24, the price reached $7,990, the highest level since April. 15.
"Some dramatically good economic news" may send copper above the "historic resistance level" of $8,000, Citigroup said. The chances of that are 25 percent, the same odds for a potential "sharp" decline in inventories, the bank said.
"It is likely that copper will at best ‘pause' for a while," Citigroup said.
Aluminum, zinc and lead also fell on the LME. Nickel and tin gained.
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| add to favorites | Kaiser Aluminum posts lower-than-expected profit | Cars |
Kaiser Aluminum Corp's （KALU.O） third-quarter profit dropped 74 percent, missing Wall Street estimates, and the company warned on Monday of a quarter-to-quarter decline in shipments.
Net income fell to $6 million, or 29 cents per share, from $23 million, or $1.14 a share, a year earlier, the Foothill Ranch, California-based company said.
Excluding certain items, earnings were 32 cents per share. On that basis, analysts on average were expecting 43 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S/.
Net sales rose slightly to $263 million from $252 million.
"Demand for our general engineering, automotive and industrial applications continues to reflect a slow recovery," said Chief Executive Officer Jack Hockema. "We do not anticipate any meaningful restocking of service center inventories until the economic recovery is strong enough."
He said Kaiser anticipated that fourth-quarter shipments would be slightly lower than the third as a result of normal year-end seasonality.
Kaiser's stock was down 0.7 percent at $44.85 in morning Nasdaq trading.
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| add to favorites | Aluminum Association recognizes America recycles day | Cars |
The Aluminum Association is proud to recognize America Recycles Day on November 15. Now in its 13th year, America Recycles Day is the only day dedicated to raising awareness of recycling and its positive contributions on the world. This day encourages the public to get involved and better educated with a variety of recycling activities being held across the US.
Mr Steve Larkin president of Aluminium Association said that "We are proud to recognize America Recycles Day. This is a day where communities come together to support recycling and promote aluminum as the most sustainable and recyclable automotive, packaging and construction material in today's market. It is a great opportunity to help educate others about the work we promote every day."
Quick facts about recycling aluminum:
1. There is no limit to the amount of times aluminum can be recycled.
2. A recycled aluminum beverage can is able to be back on the shelf in as little as 60 days.
3. Aluminum cans are the most widely recycled beverage container in the country.
4. Recycling aluminum uses 95% less energy than making new aluminum.
Overall, recycling saves energy and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. The Aluminum Association is proud to focus on recycling initiatives and urges communities to take part on November 15.
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| add to favorites | Novelis to Close Foil Mill in Bridgnorth, U.K. | Cars |
Novelis today announced that its foil rolling activities at Bridgnorth, England, and also part of the packaging business on the same site, will cease operations by the end of April 2011. The announcement comes after a 90-day consultation with the 319 employees at Bridgnorth.
"Despite significant effort by the Bridgnorth team, unfortunately a viable alternative to closure did not emerge for most of the operation," said Tadeu Nardocci, president of Novelis Europe and senior vice-president of Novelis Inc. "We thank the employees for their constructive approach during this difficult time."
It is possible that part of the packaging operation at Bridgnorth may be sold as a going concern. Novelis is in discussions with potential buyers for the printed confectionery packaging business on the site.
The closure and subsequent consolidation of the business into other plants in Novelis' European system aims to improve the competitiveness of the company's overall foil and packaging production system in response to over-capacity in the European foil market and increasing competition from manufacturers in low-cost countries.
The company said that existing customer orders will be fulfilled and clients will be contacted individually regarding the future handling of their business.
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| add to favorites | Alcoa Q4 profit beats forecasts | Cars |
Alcoa Inc reported a fourth-quarter profit on Monday, after a year-ago loss, beating Wall Street estimates on higher aluminium prices and projected demand for the metal will rise in 2011.
Alcoa shares, which had gained 0.4 per cent during the regular trading session and hit a 12-month high last week, were down 1.3 per cent at $US16.22 in after-hours trade on the New York Stock Exchange.
Income from continuing operations was $US258 million, or 21 cents per share, excluding special items, compared with a loss of $US266 million, or 27 cents per share in the same quarter of 2009. Net income was 24 cents per share.
Revenue rose 4 per cent to $US5.7 billion, said the company which is traditionally the first Dow component to report in the quarter.
Analysts on average were expecting earnings of 19 cents per share and revenue of $US5.71 billion.
"It looks like it's above expectations, and I think that's exactly what the market is going to need to continue its momentum," said Alan Lancz, president, Alan B. Lancz & Associates Inc.
"It's a good first shot across the bow for the earnings season," he added.
Alcoa said improved earnings were driven by higher pricing, continued strengthening in most end markets and improved productivity as a result of cost-cutting measures.
Results were offset somewhat by a weaker US dollar and higher energy and raw material costs, it said.
Aluminium prices, which slumped dramatically during the recession, rose 11 per cent last year - 5 per cent in the fourth quarter alone - and are now near a two-year peak of $US2,500 per tonne.
"In 2011, we see aluminium growing another 12 per cent on top of last year's 13-per cent improvement," said chief executive officer Klaus Kleinfeld. "We are well positioned to outpace the recovery in the markets we serve."
He later told CNBC that global aluminium markets continue to grow and that in the construction and building markets the company sees "a little light at the end of the tunnel."
Analyst Bridget Freas, of Morningstar in Chicago, said she was not surprised by Alcoa's strong earnings.
"They've done a good job at improving margins and have cut overhead. Of course, the better aluminium pricing was what drove the higher-than-expected earnings," Ms Freas said.
"I think it's a good sign that they expect global growth up 12 per cent this year. It's optimistic, but reasonable."
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| add to favorites | Alcoa Stock Hits New 52-Week High | Cars |
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Alcoa （NYSE:AA） hit a new 52-week high Monday as it traded at $17.50 compared with its previous 52-Week high of $17.48. Alcoa is changing hands at $17.49 with 1.7 million shares traded as of 9:41 a.m. ET. Average volume has been 28.4 million shares over the past 30 days. Alcoa has a market cap of $17.5 billion and is part of the basic materials sector and metals & mining industry. Shares are up 12.9% year to date as of the close of trading on Friday.
Alcoa Inc. engages in the production and management of primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum, and alumina worldwide. The company involves in the technology, mining, refining, smelting, fabricating, and recycling of aluminum. The company has a P/E ratio of 31.7, below the average metals & mining industry P/E ratio of 71.3 and above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 23.5.
TheStreet Ratings rates Alcoa as a hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its impressive record of earnings per share growth, compelling growth in net income and revenue growth. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including poor profit margins and generally poor debt management.
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| add to favorites | Rio May Book $5 Billion Aluminum Writedown, Deutsche Bank Says | Cars |
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Rio Tinto Group (RIO), the world's second- biggest mining company, may take a $5 billion one-time charge at its full-year results to further write down the value of its aluminum assets, Deutsche Bank AG said.
"The division is struggling due to declining prices and rising costs and second-half earnings are expected to be breakeven," Deutsche Bank analysts led by Paul Young said yesterday in a report.
The bank values the unit at $41.1 billion, of which $19.8 billion is goodwill.Rio last month said it planned to sell 13 aluminum assets, including smelters and alumina plants in Australia, the U.S. and U.K., to improve its financial performance. The company has cut its net debt to $7.9 billion after borrowings ballooned to $40 billion with its acquisition in 2007 of Alcan Inc.Since 2008, Rio has sold $3.2 billion of aluminum assets, written off $6.6 billion in goodwill and written down $1.2 billion in assets, said the bank, which rates the company a "buy" with a share target price of A$98.10.
The company is likely to book some one-time charges in its aluminum and diamond divisions at its full-year results scheduled in February, Chief Financial Officer Guy Elliott said msg yesterday during an investor webcast. It also increased the cost estimate for its planned expansion of the Kitimat smelter in British Columbia to $3.3 billion, from $2.5 billion.
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