Alcoa To Close Point Henry Aluminum Smelter And Two Rolling Mills In Australia

(RTTNews) - Alcoa Inc. (AA) Monday said it will permanently close its Point Henry aluminum smelter and two rolling mills in Australia.

The smelter and an adjacent rolling mill are located in Geelong, Victoria. The second mill and a recycling facility are located in Yennora, New South Wales. The smelter will close in August and the rolling mills by the end of 2014.

A strategic review on the smelter found out that it has no prospect of becoming financially viable. The two rolling mills serve the domestic and Asian can sheet markets which have been impacted by excess capacity.

Chief Executive Klaus Kleinfeld said, "Despite the hard work of the local teams, these assets are no longer competitive and are not financially sustainable today or into the future."

Alcoa expects restructuring related to the closures to be between $250 million and $270 million, or $0.22 to $0.25 per share, of which about 60 percent would be recorded in the first quarter.