Kaiser Aluminum Posts Higher Earnings

Higher prices for some products and increased output of others lifted Kaiser Aluminum Corp. third-quarter earnings.

The owner of the Mead smelter and Trentwood rolling mill reported net income of $17.5 million, or 22 cents per share, for the period ended Sept. 30.

The company lost $6.6 million, or 12 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.

Sales rose to $634.1 million from $553.4 million.

Chairman George Haymaker Jr. said higher prices for primary aluminum, like that produced at Mead, and alumina helped boost results, as did increased shipments of fabricated products.

Primary aluminum prices climbed 13 percent to 76 cents per pound compared with last year.

Fabrication gains reflect the acquisition of an extrusion plant in Bellwood, Va., in June, he said.

Margins also improved as a result of cost-cutting measures throughout the company, Haymaker said.

For the first nine months of 1997, Kaiser net income reached $33.8 million, or 39 cents per share, compared with $11.5 million, or seven cents per share, a year ago. , DataTimes