Alcoa (NYSE:AA) unofficially launches the earnings season after the market closes today, and is expected to beat consensus for the fifth quarter in a row, possibly doubling over the previous quarter.
Profit in the second quarter, according to a FactSet Research survey, should come in at 34 cents a share.
Aerospace and transportation are the primary movers of the metal, with China being the major source of demand for aluminum.
On the London Metal Exchange, aluminum prices have surged 24 percent in the quarter, with global demand projected to climb by 12 percent in 2011, says to Alcoa CEO Klaus Kleinfeld, and could double by the end of the decade.
Aluminum production by Alcoa in the first quarter reached 889,000 tons, and should surpass that in the current quarter.
Even with a good report the company could be challenged, along with many others, on concerns over the continuing sovereign debt disaster in Europe, China's growth rate, and the anemic American economy.
Alcoa was trading at $15.92, falling $0.46, or 2.81 percent, as of 10:07 AM EDT.
No comments:
Post a Comment