Alcoa swings to surprise quarterly loss

Alcoa Corp.
AA,
-2.21%
stock dropped more than 2% in the extended session Wednesday after the aluminum and alumina producer swung to a surprise quarterly loss and revenue came in below Wall Street expectations. Alcoa lost $231 million, or $1.30 a share, in the first quarter, contrasting with earnings of $469 million, or $2.49 a share, in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted for one-time items, the company lost 23 cents a share. Revenue dropped to $2.7 billion from $3.3 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet expected adjusted earnings of 3 cents a share on sales of $2.76 billion. Alcoa is making “important progress in stabilizing our operations, with teams working to improve on a minute-by-minute, day-by-day basis,” Chief Executive Roy Harvey said in a statement. “We plan to build on that momentum as we tackle a host of complex issues, including developing breakthrough technologies and addressing increased expectations from stakeholders.” Alcoa shares ended the regular trading day down 2.2%.