PITTSBURGH (AP) — Alcoa Inc. on Monday reported a smaller net loss for the fourth quarter Monday, though revenue shrank without improvement in its aerospace, commercial building and gas turbines businesses.
The company, based in Pittsburgh, reported a net loss of $277 million, or 28 cents per share, compared with a loss of $1.19 billion, or $1.49 per share, a year ago.
The most recent quarter included $275 million, or 28 cents a share, in special charges.
Revenue fell to $5.43 billion from $5.68 billion.
Alcoa said free cash flow turned positive for the first time since the second quarter of 2008, a sign the company was able to generate money from operations and not solely through cost-cutting.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters on average predicted Alcoa would earn 6 cents a share on revenue of $4.86 billion.
The company’s quarterly report signals the beginning of the earnings season for S&P 500 companies and it can be a sign of things to come.
Analysts on Monday were looking for better sales in the company’s aerospace and construction businesses after a year in which major corporations salvaged profits with severe cost cuts.
Alcoa said it achieved a price of about 97.8 cents a pound for aluminum in the quarter, up from 8 cents from the third quarter, but the company said those gains were offset in some segments by a weaker U.S. dollar.
Alcoa reported results after the market closed and shares tumbled 6 percent, or $1.05, to $16.40 in aftermarket trading.