Alcoa’s 1st-Quarter Earnings Jump 62%

Alcoa Inc., the world’s biggest aluminum maker, said earnings jumped 62% in the first quarter to $355 million, or 95 cents a share, as prices rebounded from last year’s depressed levels and the company cut costs and increased productivity. Profit beat the 91-cent average forecast of analysts surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial. Sales rose 14% to $4.53 billion. Alcoa, which plans to buy competitor Reynolds Metals Co., benefited from a 25% jump in average aluminum price during the quarter from a year ago. Alcoa also has been able to boost profit by cutting management jobs, selling property, and improving efficiency in production and purchasing. Demand for aluminum has been fueled by expanding economies, especially in Europe and Asia, where some nations are expanding at their fastest rates in almost a decade. Shares of Pittsburgh-based Alcoa rose $1.75 to close at $70.94 on the NYSE.