Arconic Inc. shares rose 2% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the company posted better-than-expected first-quarter earnings and raised guidance, citing higher aluminum prices and strong orders from the aerospace sector. The maker of aluminum panels for cars and planes said it had net income of $52 million, or 46 cents a share, in the quarter, up from $46 million, or 42 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Sales rose to $1.675 billion from $1.611 billion a year ago. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of 30 cents and sales of $1.535 billion. “We captured growth in international packaging due to better than expected regional strength and industrial end markets improved as the trade litigation came to a final positive ruling at the end of March,” Chief Executive Tim Myers said in a statement. “Ground transportation sales also grew, largely driven by commercial transportation, but were constrained by weather impacts and the semiconductor shortage.” Arconic secured long-term contracts equal to more than $2 billion in aerospace revenue and negotiated agreements for about $1.5 billion in North American packaging revenue from 2022 to 2024, he said. It also completed a $1 billion U.S. pension partial annuitization and authorized a share buyback program of up to $300 million. The company also raised its guidance and now expects full-year revenue to range from $7.1 billion to $7.4 billion, up from prior guidance of $6.6 billion to $6.9 billion. The FactSet consensus is for sales of $6.6 billion. Shares have fallen 1.5% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 11.6%.
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