Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), a leading international aluminium smelter, has reported total sales of BD174.3 million ($463.5 million) for the third quarter of 2016, a 5 per cent decrease in comparison to BD184.4 million ($490.4 million) for the same period in 2015.

For the nine months of 2016, total sales stood at BD496.5 million ($1.32 billion), down by 16 per cent  versus BD590.3 million ($1.57 billion) for the same period last year, on the back of dual drop in London Metal Exchange (LME) and premium prices, said a statement from the company.

Net income for the third quarter increased by 65 per cent to BD14.3 million ($38.1 million) versus BD8.7 million ($23 million) in Q3 2015, it said.

The company posted a net income of BD34.8 million ($92.6 million) for the nine months of 2016 versus BD75.7 million ($201 million), down by 54 per cent due to lower LME and premium prices, it added.''

Alba was able to increase its sales volume by 3.1 per cent YoY, while production was up by 2.4 per cent YoY. Value-added sales averaged 58 per cent of total shipments in Q3.

The company successfully closed $1.5 billion syndicated term-loan facility for its Line 6 facility and the PS5 EPC contract was awarded to GE and Gama Consortium during the period. The L6 Power Distribution System (PDS) contract was awarded to Siemens.

Commenting on the results, Alba’s chairman Shaikh Daij Bin Salman Bin Daij Al Khalifa, said: “I would like to thank all our employees and contractors on completing a safe summer. Alba continues to raise the bar in a challenging environment and was able to maintain its performance on many fronts.”

“And as we move ahead, we look forward to secure the ECA financing tranche for Line 6,” he added.

Alba’s chief executive officer Tim Murray, added: “Our company was able to raise net income on the back of a solid operational performance despite a relatively weak physical premium environment.” - TradeArabia News Service