Aluminium Corp of China warns of further losses

　　Aluminum Corp of China Ltd (Chalco) reported a net loss of 1.09 billion yuan ($173 million) for the first quarter on Friday, dented by higher costs and lower prices for the lightweight metal.

　　Chalco, the country's top aluminium maker, also warned of a loss for its first half ending June 2012 due to weak prices and high raw material prices, in a statement to the Shanghai stock exchange.

　　It reported a 19 percent rise in revenue to 33.6 billion yuan in the three months ended March but the net loss was was worse than analysts had expected, with UBS forecasting a loss of 750 million yuan. Last year the company made a net profit in the same period of 331.17 million yuan.

　　The state-owned aluminium maker had warned of losses in the first quarter and analysts forecast aluminium prices to be flat while China's aluminium market would move into surplus this year with more new low-cost capacity coming on stream.

　　Chalco's Hong Kong-listed shares ended down 0.5 percent on Friday before the results were announced. They are up 1 2 p ercent so far this year, compared with a 13 p ercent gain on the broader Hang Seng Index in the same period.