PITTSBURGH, April 5 (UPI) -- Alcoa Inc., the world's largest aluminum producer, said its first-quarter net income fell as the weak U.S. economy kept a lid on demand for aluminum.
Alcoa's net income fell to $218 million, or 26 cents a share, from $404 million, or 46 cents a share, during the same period a year earlier, the company said.
The latest results include income of $34 million, or 4 cents a share, from the cumulative effect of the change in accounting for goodwill required by the adoption of FASB 142, Alcoa said. FASB 142 refers to Financial Accounting Standards Board principle 142.
Without the accounting change, Alcoa said it posted a net income of 22 cents a share.
Analysts on Wall Street who track the company were expecting Alcoa to post a net income of 22 cents a share without the accounting change, according to Thomson Financial/First Call.
Revenues fell to $4.98 billion from $6.18 billion a year ago.
By end of the 2002 first quarter, Alcoa had cut annual costs by $436 million and predicted that it would reach its target of $1 billion in cost savings by 2003.
"The near-term operating climate remains challenging, and we continue to focus on managing what is in our control," said Chairman and CEO Alain Belda.
"As demand for aluminum strengthens, we will capture the efficiencies generated by last year's strategic restructuring of our operations and the continued deployment of the Alcoa Business System," he added.
