Alcoa swings into surprise profit

Aluminum giant Alcoa said Tuesday it swung into profit in the first quarter, boosted by improved productivity and market conditions. After the stock market closed, Alcoa, the first member of the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average to report earnings this year, reported net income of $94 million, following a $191 million loss in the fourth quarter of 2011. Excluding special items, Alcoa earned 10 cents per share, surprising analysts who on average estimated a loss of four cents. Sales also beat forecasts, rising to $6.01 billion in the first three months of the year, slightly more than in the prior and year-ago quarters. While an improvement, the first-quarter results were sharply below the year-ago profit of $308 million. The world's largest producer of aluminum said the quarter-on-quarter rebound was driven by strong productivity improvements across all its businesses, higher prices for aluminum, and a better volume and mix. "Performance rebounded strongly this quarter due to our proactive cash sustainability actions, our relentless focus on profitable growth, and stabilizing markets," said Klaus Kleinfeld, Alcoa chairman and chief executive, in a statement. Kleinfeld noted the company was executing an "aggressive strategy" to lower costs and improve profitability. "Challenges remain in this economy, but we approach them better prepared than ever before," he said. Shares in Alcoa closed 2.9 percent lower, at $9.32, in an overall bear market as investors awaited the company to kick off the first earnings season of the year. Investors welcomed the better-than-expected results, sending shares up 0.5 percent in after-hours trade.