Alcoa sheds its chemicals division

Aluminum giant Alcoa closed the period ended March 2 up US45 to US$37.71 after its 60%-owned subsidiary Alcoa World Alumina & Chemicals completed the sale of Alcoa Specialty Chemicals to two private equity firms led by Rhone Capital. The price tag was US$342 million, which includes the assumption of debt and other unfunded obligations. The Specialty Chemicals business, which will be renamed “Almatis,” has annual revenue of US$360 million and employs 800 people in 11 facilities in six countries.

Stillwater Mining managed to recover from a 1-day 8% drop to end the period unchanged at US$12.34. It had revealed a wider fourth-quarter loss caused by low palladium prices and a hefty US$390- million asset-impairment charge relating to a reduction in reserves. For the fourth quarter, Stillwater lost a net US$308.9 million, or US$3.44 a share, compared with a loss of $600,000 (US1 per share) a year earlier. The company is completing sales contracts for the 877,169-oz. palladium inventory it acquired when Norilsk Nickel bought a majority stake last year.

Papua New Guinea-based Lihir Gold crashed 12% to US$16.73, owing to an unexpected 21-day delay in full plant startup at the Lihir gold mine. The delay was caused by a problem in the Linde oxygen plant. A week earlier, the company had announced that its net profit for 2003 had fallen 35% to US$34.8 million whereas annual sales were up slightly to US$214.5 million.