Alcoa Profit, Sales Top Estimates

Alcoa Inc. late Wednesday said it earned $149 million, or 12 cents a share, in the third quarter, compared with $24 million, or 2 cents a share, a year ago. Adjusted to exclude one-time items, the aluminum producer earned $370 million, or 31 cents a share, compared with 11 cents a share a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected 22 cents a share. Sales for the quarter ended Sept. 30 rose to $6.2 billion, from $5.8 billion a year ago and compared with the FactSet consensus of $5.84 billion. Alcoa said it is making good on its promises to turn itself around and focus on the more profitable manufacturing operations. "This strong quarter is the direct result of our intense focus on repositioning our portfolio, and we're just hitting our stride," Alcoa's Chairman and CEO Klaus Kleinfeld said in the statement. Shares were up 1.5% in after-hours trade. The stock closed at $16.07, up 0.6%.