Topic: Growth Stocks

The Wall Street Stock Forecaster Hotline – Friday, July 10, 2009

Article Excerpt

ALCOA INC., $9.34, New York symbol AA, lost $256 million, or $0.26 a share, in the second quarter of 2009. However, that was better than the $0.38-a-share loss that analysts were expecting. In the year-earlier quarter, the company earned $553 million, or $0.67 a share. The latest figures exclude costs related to Alcoa’s restructuring, which includes consolidating plants and laying off workers. The cutbacks saved the company around $1.3 billion in the first half of this year. By 2010, Alcoa aims to lower its costs by a total of $2.4 billion a year. Alcoa’s revenue fell 41.4%, to $4.2 billion from $7.2 billion. The company mainly sells its aluminum to customers in the aerospace, automotive and construction industries, which have struggled lately. Aluminum prices are down 49% from a year earlier, but are 9% better than they were in the first quarter of 2009. Along with other producers, Alcoa has cut its aluminum production in response to the lower prices…