Alcoa forecast growth of demand

Alcoa the largest US aluminium producer estimates demand growth of 7%. The high demand, driven by the aerospace and commercial transportation sectors, should combine with industry-wide production cuts to reduce the market saturation that has driven down aluminum prices by 13 percent this year.

Alcoa on Monday confirmed its demand forecast, even as it posted a net loss in the second quarter, due to restructuring costs related to plant closures and due to provisions for a deal with Department of Justice. Company was alleged with corruption and bribery in Bahrain.

However, company achieved a larger-than-expected profit owed to its productivity gains and a strong performance from its engineered products business, which makes high-margin goods like aerospace fasteners, turbine blades and truck wheels.

“It was a good, solid quarter. Alcoa continues to show they can cut costs and will be a survivor,” said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Asset Management, which owns some Alcoa bonds. “This is a company that remains profitable and strong despite the tough environment.”, he added for Reuters.

Excluding restructuring costs and costs conducted by bribery probe, the company reported second-quarter earnings of $76 million, or 7 cents a share. Analysts had been expecting earnings of 6 cents, according to Thomson Reuters.

The revenue for the quarter lost 2% to $5.85 billion, mostly due to lower aluminum prices, but still beat analysts expectations of $5.83 billion.

“It looks much better than expected. It is good to see that revenue is better than expected,” said Alan Lancz, president of Alan B. Lancz & Associates, an investment advisory firm based in Toledo, Ohio. “It seems like the outlook is favorable so far.” cited by Reuters.

Shares of Alcoa closed at $7.92 which is a 1.41% advance. The stock has fallen nearly 9% this year in the face of stubbornly low aluminum prices, caused by a global surplus, and concerns about lackluster demand.

Alcoa expects a 9 to 10% increase in aluminum demand this year from the aerospace sector, driven by aircraft orders at the Paris Air Show and an already-large orders within the aerospace industry. It also sees increased demand from the automotive, commercial transportation and construction industries.