US aluminum sheet maker Aleris posts $42 million net income in Q4

US aluminum sheet maker and recycler Aleris Thursday posted fourth-quarter net income of $42 million, compared with a net loss of $759 million for Q4 2009.

Q4 net earnings would have been $48 million and $34 million in 2010 and 2009, respectively, excluding the tax impacts of metal price lag, reorganization items, unrealized hedging gains, the impact of recording assets at fair value through fresh-start accounting, restructuring and impairment charges and interest expense associated with previous debt structure. the company said.

Fourth-quarter volume rose 17% from a year before, Aleris said, adding that the increase, coupled with higher LME prices and improved rolling margins, resulted in fourth-quarter revenue of $1.1 billion, 26% above the $840 million in Q4 2009.

For the full-year, revenue rose to $4.1 billion from $2.9 billion in Q4 2009.

Pounds invoiced totaled 1.13 million lb in Q4 2010, up from 974,000 lb a year before.

Aleris emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on June 1, 2010. This resulted in the company being considered a new entity for financial reporting purposes. As a result, Aleris' financial statements for periods after June 1, 2010, are not comparable with financial statements for periods prior to that date.

Rolled products North America's segment income for the fourth quarter decreased fell to $6 million from $16 million in Q4 2009.

Aleris' recycling and specification alloys Americas' segment income for the fourth quarter increased $15 million from $7 million in the year-ago quarter。