Alcoa’s stock falls after Q1 results miss expectations

Alcoa (NYSE: AA) reported a wider-than-expected loss for the first quarter of 2019 along with revenues that fell short of estimates. The stock was down 1.8% during after-market hours on Wednesday.

Total revenues dropped to $2.7 billion from $3 billion in the same period last year, hurt by lower alumina and aluminum prices.

Net loss attributable to Alcoa Corporation was $199 million, or $1.07 per share, compared to a net income of $195 million, or $1.04 per share, in the year-ago period. The Q1 2019 results include the impact of $156 million for special items, stemming mainly from a collective dismissal process at two smelters in Spain. Adjusted net loss was $43 million or $0.23 per share.

For full-year 2019, Alcoa expects total annual bauxite shipments to be 47-48 million dry metric tons. Total alumina shipments are expected to be between 13.6 million and 13.7 million metric tons while aluminum shipments are expected to be between 2.8 million and 2.9 million metric tons.

For the year, Alcoa projects a global aluminum deficit of between 1.5 million and 1.9 million metric tons, down from last quarter’s full-year estimate of 1.7-2.1 million metric tons. Global aluminum demand growth is estimated to be 2-3%, down from last quarter’s estimate of 3-4%, mainly due to lower demand growth in China.

In the alumina market, Alcoa projects a surplus in the range of 200,000 metric tons to 1 million metric tons, while the bauxite market is expected to have a slightly larger surplus, with stockpile growth ranging between 8 million and 12 million metric tons.

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