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Mix-Ansicht- Der Marktkommentar für Freitag, den 4.10.2002 Teil 1 - nasdaq, 04.10.2002, 16:19
- Alcoa - Reikianer, 04.10.2002, 16:22
Alcoa
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UPDATE 1-Alcoa's 3rd quarter profit falls on depressed prices
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PITTSBURGH, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Alcoa Inc., the world's largest aluminum producer, on Friday said third-quarter profit fell sharply, stung by low prices resulting from a worldwide glut of aluminum and slow economic growth.
Pittsburgh-based Alcoa, seen as an economic bellwether because it is traditionally among the first major U.S. firms to report results each quarter, reported net income of $193 million, or 23 cents a share, compared with $339 million, or 39 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter.
Excluding a special charge, the company posted a profit of 26 cents a share, which matched the consensus estimate from analysts polled by Thomson First Call.
After a dismal first half of the year, Alcoa had hoped to see improving profitability in the second half. But high energy costs and the depressed price of aluminum, which is hovering near two-and-a-half year lows, have plagued the company and analysts' expectations for Alcoa's profit have steadily eroded over the last several months.
For the moment, the aerospace and telecommunications markets are haunting Alcoa and the rest of an industry under pressure from excess capacity and an uncertain economy. China's emergence as an aluminum exporter and production increases from Russian companies have only added to the industry's woes.
One of Alcoa's main rivals, Kaiser Aluminum Corp., filed for bankruptcy protection in February.
In the quarter, Alcoa's sales fell to $5.22 billion from $5.51 billion in the prior-year period.
Alcoa is also carrying heavy debt, and its stock price lost more than 41 percent in the third quarter, underperforming the the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> which lost nearly 18 percent. Company shares closed Thursday at $20.10 on the New York Stock Exchange.
To offset low prices, Alcoa has gone on a cost-cutting spree and said it is on track to achieve annualized cost savings of $1 billion next year.
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