Kaiser Nails Down Profit For Quarter Aluminum Giant Reports First Back-To-Back Profit In 3 Years

Kaiser Aluminum Corp. has built a second consecutive quarter of profits for the first time in almost three years.

The company Thursday reported net income of $23.5 million, or 31 cents per share, on sales of $583.4 million, for the second quarter of 1995. That compares with a net loss of $23.6 million, or 50 cents per share, on sales of $459.5 million for the second quarter of 1994.

Kaiser’s first quarter, 1995, profit of $3.5 million on sales of $513 million, was the company’s first profitable quarter since the fourth quarter of 1992. Now, the company has built on that performance with a second quarter of profits.

For the first six months of 1995, Kaiser’s net income was $26.8 million, or 28 cents per share, on sales of $1.1 billion. That compares with a net loss of $58.3 million, or a loss of $1.17 per share, on sales of $874.6 million, for the first half of 1994.

George T. Haymaker Jr., Kaiser’s chairman and chief executive officer, attributed the company’s improved performance to better prices for products in the company’s three major market segments: alumina, primary aluminum and fabricated aluminum products.

“In addition, our shipment levels in the second quarter remained reasonably strong, and we continue to benefit from companywide efforts to increase efficiency and productivity,” Haymaker said in a news release.

The company, Spokane County’s largest manufacturing employer, reported that alumina shipments totaled 576,600 metric tons in the second quarter and 1.02 million metric tons in the first half of 1995. That compares with 574,200 and 1.04 million metric tons for the same periods of 1994.

Primary aluminum shipments totaled 63,800 metric tons in the second quarter and 111,500 metric tons in the first half of 1995, compared with 63,100 and 127,400 metric tons a year ago.

Shipment of fabricated aluminum products totaled 99,400 metric tons for the first quarter and 193,900 metric tons for the first half of 1995, compared with 104,900 metric tons and 201,700 metric tons for the same periods in 1994.

Houston-based Kaiser, which sells alumina, primary aluminum and products fabricated from aluminum worldwide, has a smelter at Mead and a rolling mill at Trentwood in Spokane County.

, DataTimes