Tim Murray and Mahmood Hashim Al Kooheji.
Alba Q1 net income surges 89pc
Manama, May 7, 2013
Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), ranked as one of the largest aluminium smelters in the world, has registered a net income of $108 million for the first quarter, up 89 per cent year-on-year compared to $57 million in 2012.
Announcing the first quarter results, Alba said the aluminium physical demand remained healthy during the period thus resulting in company's solid sales growth. The Bahrain flagship company saw its sales soar to $498 million, up $2 million compared to last year's $496 million.
This was mainly due to the strong physical premiums and favourable management performance despite low LME prices, said a statement from Alba.
Commenting on the results, chief executive Tim Murray said, "Alba was able to deliver a solid quarterly financial performance despite tough LME market conditions. We were able to capitalize on a significant increase in product premiums on the back of a strong operational performance."
According to him, Alba boosted its sales and production during the first three months of the year by 2.2 per cent and 3 per cent respectively. The sales of value-added products reached 66 per cent of total shipments versus 62 per cent last year.
The chairman of Alba’s board of directors, Mahmood Hashim Al Kooheji said the company’s focus on strengthening its competitive edge through operational improvement has led to a big jump in production which contributed directly to the bottom line.
In March this year, Alba had paid $52 million as the final dividend for 2012 bringing the total dividend for 2012 to $105 million.
On the HSE performance, Al Kooheji pointed out that the company had improved its safety performance achieving 4 million hours without an LTI.
"I would also like to express my sincere appreciation to the team at Alba for their efforts to improve overall safety performance," he added.
A leading player in the aluminium industry, Alba is known for its technological strength, global competitiveness and innovative policies.
It produces more than 890,000 MT per annum of aluminium which meet or exceed the industry standard for purity, with products including standard and T-ingots, extrusion billets, rolling slab, properzi ingots, and molten aluminium.-TradeArabia News Service
