Kaiser ups Gramercy output; sees no 2001 NW restart
NEW YORK, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Kaiser Aluminum Corp. (NYSE:KLU) said Tuesday its rebuilt Gramercy alumina refinery was operating at more than 90 percent of its new rated annual capacity of 1.25 million tonnes after efficiency improvements following a 1999 explosion that closed production.
Kaiser said alumina output from Gramercy, Louisiana had risen from 78 percent of capacity in the third quarter and was likely to attain its full operating rate by the end of 2001 or early next year.
During a conference call to discuss third-quarter earnings, the Houston-based company also said it did not expect to restart 110,000 tonnes of idled aluminum smelter capacity in the U.S. Pacific Northwest before December 31, due to low metal prices and a lack of affordable regional power.
``We don't anticipate restarting in the fourth quarter,'' said Kaiser's new CEO, Jack Hockema.
Kaiser executives said a restart of its shuttered Mead and Tacoma smelters in Washington state would depend upon an upturn in aluminum prices and cheaper long-term power availability.
The aluminum industry has been crippled this year by a deepening manufacturing recession and ample metal supply.
London Metal Exchange aluminum prices traded at $1,295 a tonne, or about 59 cents a lb, on Tuesday -- just above recent 28-month lows.
Kaiser said Tuesday its curtailed northwest aluminum production and soft demand contributed to its third-quarter loss of $24.7 million, or 31 cents a share, compared with a year-ago profit of $2.1 million, or 3 cents a share.
Alumina, produced from the mineral bauxite, is the intermediate product used to make aluminum.