Alcoa profit slips on higher costs

Alcoa Inc.’s second-quarter earnings fell nearly 24% as higher prices failed to offset the costs of raw materials, energy and disruptions at facilities, the aluminum producer said.

The Pittsburgh-based company earned $546 million, or 66 cents a share, for the quarter that ended June 30, compared with $715 million, or 81 cents, a year earlier. Revenue dropped 6% to $7.6 billion.

Results beat Wall Street estimates. Analysts, on average, expected profit of 64 cents a share on revenue of $7.36 billion.

Disruptions at facilities weighed down results by $39 million, Alcoa said. They included a natural gas pipeline explosion in western Australia that curtailed supplies to an Australian affiliate and the temporary idling of half the production at its Rockdale, Texas, smelter because of power supply interruptions.

Chief Executive Klaus Kleinfeld said Aloca expected the global aluminum industry to maintain a supply-demand balance for the year, despite sluggish markets in the U.S. and Europe.

The company forecasts growth of 6% annually in the global aluminum industry over the next decade, fueled by gains in Asia, Kleinfeld said.

Shares of Alcoa rose more than a dollar, or more than 3%, in after-hours trading after the earnings news. During the regular session, they fell $1.06, or 3.2%, to $32.33.