Alcoa Q2 net more than doubles on higher prices

US aluminum giant Alcoa kicked off corporate earnings season Monday, reporting that its net income in the second quarter was $322 million, more than double the level from the same period last year. Boosted by rising prices for its aluminum products, Alcoa's revenue in the second quarter was $6.6 billion, up 27 percent from the same period a year earlier and up 11 percent from the first quarter, the company said in a statement. Alcoa's revenues beat analysts' forecasts for $6.3 billion. But earnings per share fell short, coming in at 32 cents after adjusting for special items, compared to forecasts of 34 cents a share. Second-quarter net income was $322 million, up 137 percent from the second quarter of 2010, when commodities prices were much lower. Shares of Alcoa fell after the report was released, dropping 0.4 percent by 2050 GMT in after-hours trading. Before the closing bell, Alcoa had fallen 2.9 percent, steeper than the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which dropped 1.2 percent for the day. "Although the economic recovery is uneven, the overall outlook for Alcoa -- and for aluminum -- remains positive," Alcoa chairman and chief executive Klaus Kleinfeld said in a statement. Alcoa, the world's second-largest aluminum producer, was the first big US company to report its earnings for the second quarter. Google and JPMorgan Chase are due to report their results on Thursday, followed by Citigroup on Friday. Investors have been hoping for strong corporate earnings to boost the stock market after the release of a downbeat report on US employment triggered a sharp sell-off last Friday.