Alcoa: The Pittsburgh-based company’s first-quarter profit declined...

Alcoa: The Pittsburgh-based company’s first-quarter profit declined to $148.6 million from $276 million a year earlier, while sales remained unchanged at $2.6 billion. Actual aluminum shipments, on the other hand, increased 4% for the period to 634,000 metric tons. The 46% fall in profit was blamed on rampant inflation in Brazil, involving company affiliate Alcoa Aluminio, along with a lower level of activity for fabricated aluminum products, a shift in product mix to more ingot sales and lower prices for ingot and some fabricated products.