The largest U.S. aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:AA) reported a slim operating profit for the fourth quarter, but missed Wall Street expectations.
Alcoa said the net loss was $277 million, or 28 cents per share, compared with a loss of $1.19 billion, or $1.49 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2008. Excluding charges of 28 cents a share for restructuring, special items and discrete tax items, Alcoa earned 1 cent a share on an operating basis, short of the 6 cents a share expected, on average, by analysts. according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Revenue fell 4% in the quarter, to $5.43 billion. Analysts had predicted revenue would fall 15% to $4.9 billion from $5.69 billion a year earlier.
Profit was hurt by higher energy prices and the dollar’s decline against the euro and the Brazilian real, Deutsche Bank AG analyst Jorge Beristain said. Alcoa’s primary aluminum production rose 1.8 percent from the previous quarter to 897,000 tons, and the company said it bought an additional 207,000 tons on the open market to satisfy purchase commitments.
“This was a tough year for the aluminum industry—a price crash, demand destruction, and credit crunch. Yet, today Alcoa is stronger than when the year started,” said Klaus Kleinfeld, Alcoa president and chief executive. “We reshaped our cost structure and portfolio for profitable growth. And we built the cash reserves to weather current economic uncertainties and invest in opportunities for future growth.”
Investors have been anticipating a rebound at Alcoa, a component in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The shares have surged 32% in the past month, outpacing the 3% gain for the Dow. The stock closed Monday up 2.53% at $17.45 and in after hours trade Alcoa stocks fell 5.16 percent to $16.55.