Alcoa Inc says fourth-quarter earnings have met Wall Street’s expectations, and it sees slightly higher demand for aluminum this year.

The company said on Tuesday that net income was $US242 million ($A231.5 million), or 21 US cents a share. That includes one-time gains like income from selling a hydroelectric project.

Without those gains, the company would have made six US cents a share – exactly what analysts expected, according to FactSet – on revenue of $US5.9 billion. Sales were higher than the $US5.58 billion analysts predicted.

The weak global economy has hurt demand for aluminum used in products from aircraft to drink cans. But Alcoa sees demand growing seven per cent in 2013, up from a six per cent gain in 2012.

Alcoa is the first company in the Dow Jones industrial average to report fourth-quarter earnings.