The Alro Group’s production and sales declined in the first nine months of the year on an annual basis despite higher sales for extruded aluminum products.
The Romanian aluminum maker reported on Nov 13, that low demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic and depressed aluminum prices during that time had impacted turnover. However, the company’s operating results improved due to the EU-ETS compensation scheme implemented by the country’s government to recoup for the indirect emission costs of the group through subsidies.
In January-September 2020, the group’s consolidated primary aluminum production declined to 201,635mt from 214,840mt during the same timeframe last year. Processed aluminum output fell to 74,226mt from 79,164mt and alumina production decreased to 314,577mt from 357,286mt during the same period under comparison. The group’s consolidated bauxite production fell to 1.039mn mt in the first nine months of the year from 1.527mn mt in January-September 2019.
Alro’s consolidated sales revenue fell by 10pc to RON1.942bn ($472.11mn) in the first nine months of the year from RON2.16bn in January-September 2019. Of the total revenue during the period under comparison, the company reported RON851.45mn from its primary aluminum segment (down from RON914.86mn last year), along with RON958.49mn from processed aluminum sales (compared with 1.07bn last year) and RON75.04mn from alumina sales (compared with RON114.83mn last year).
The company reported a 2pc increase in its extruded aluminum products segment in January-September 2020 compared with the same period last year, owing to higher wire rod sales. In Q3 2020 the group’s sales were also bolstered by better aluminum billet sales, which rose by 670mt compared with the same quarter last year as demand for extruded products increased. While the group’s sales in the domestic market remained robust, its exports during the first nine months of the year suffered due to pandemic related lockdowns.
| Products | Q3 2020 | Q3 2019 |
| Production (in mt) | ||
| Primary Aluminum | 64,472 | 72,173 |
| Processed Aluminum | 22,575 | 24,589 |
| Alumina | 111,619 | 130,607 |
| Sales revenue (in RON, 000) | ||
| Primary Aluminum | 275,360 | 293,749 |
| Processed Aluminum | 282,140 | 321,087 |
| Alumina | 19,098 | 24,896 |
Alro reported a net profit of RON273mn in the first nine months of the year compared with a loss of RON23mn during the same period last year. Its EBIT rose to RON355mn from RON126mn in the same comparison.
($1=RON4.11)