Alcoa cut its full-year alumina guidance, citing issues at its alumina refinery in Pinjarra, Australia, and reported a higher second-quarter profit.
The aluminum company said it now expects to produce between 200,000 and 300,000 fewer metric tons of alumina in 2026, for a total production of 9.5 million to 9.6 million metric tons. Alumina shipments are also expected to be lower by between 300,000 and 400,000 metric tons compared with previous guidance
"The reductions are primarily due to lower production at the Pinjarra refinery as instability that began in late March was further exacerbated by gas supply disruptions associated with Cyclone Narelle," the company said, adding that it has externally sourced some alumina to fulfill contracts with customers.
Alcoa also on Thursday reported a higher profit and rising revenue in the second quarter. Its profit came in at $407 million, or $1.53 a share, compared with $164 million, or 62 cents a share, a year earlier.
Stripping out certain one-time items, Alcoa reported adjusted earnings of $2.12 a share. Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting $2.25 a share.
Revenue rose to $3.97 billion from $3.02 billion a year prior, missing analyst forecasts of $3.99 billion.
Shares of Alcoa ticked down 2%, to $45.90, in after-hours trading Thursday.
Aluminum shipments rose 18% from the previous quarter, Alcoa said, attributing the rise to shipments of inventory repositioned in North America during the first quarter, as well as increased production capacity.
Alumina shipments were flat sequentially, with delayed shipments in Australia from the previous quarter were partially offset by lower trading activity and decreased production at the Pinjarra refinery.
The company earlier this week said it had reached an agreement with the governments of Australia, Japan and the U.S. to build a gallium production plant in Western Australia.
Alcoa last month also agreed to buy South32's bauxite, alumina and aluminum operations across Australia, Brazil and South Africa. The cash-and-stock deal is valued at up to $5.6 billion.
Write to Elias Schisgall at elias.schisgall@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 16, 2026 16:29 ET (20:29 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Comments