Alcoa Corp. said Wednesday afternoon that demand for aluminum is growing amid tariff fears, and offered an earnings beat as evidence, sending shares higher in after-hours trading. Alcoa reported first-quarter net income of $150 million, or 80 cents a share, on sales of $3.1 billion, up from $2.7 billion last year. After adjustments, Alcoa claimed earnings of 77 cents a share, up from 63 cents a share a year ago. Analysts on average expected adjusted earnings of 68 cents a share on sales of $3.1 billion. Alcoa said that delays in smelter projects in China, which is engaged in back-and-forth tariff threats with the U.S. that includes threatened levies on Chinese aluminum, will increase the deficit of needed aluminum and alumina this year. Alcoa predicts an aluminum deficit of 600,000 metric tons to 1 million metric tons, after stating 300,000 metric tons to 700,000 metric tons last quarter. It now predicts a deficit of up to 1.1 million metric tons for alumina as well, after predicting a balanced market last quarter. Alcoa pushed its forecast for full-year adjusted Ebitda to a range of $3.5 billion to $3.7 billion, after previously stating $2.6 billion to $2.8 billion. After closing with a 4% increase at $59.37, shares jumped 4.9% in late trading to levels that would top Alcoa's 52-week high of $60.28 were they to happen in regular trading.