Chalco extends sights in search for growth

Aluminum Corp of China, the country's top aluminium maker, returned to profit in the fourth quarter of last year.

But with the announcement was a caution that the sector faces headwinds in China from high costs and excess capacity. To cope with this, the firm known as Chalco will be looking beyond China's borders for growth.

This refers to expectations that demand for the lightweight metal in the transport, packaging and building sectors will rise on sustained economic recovery in the United States and Europe.

Chalco reported a net profit of 365.2 million yuan （HK$432 million） for October-December, according to calculations based on its 2010 results. That compares to an average forecast of 554.3 million yuan from 14 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters even though Shanghai aluminium prices were higher last year and the company's volume was up 12 percent year on year.