The net income of Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), the Bahrain-based aluminium smelter, surged 65 per cent in the second quarter of this year to BD29.1 million ($77.4 million), compared to BD17.7 million ($46.9 million) for the same period in 2017.

Alba’s top-line and bottom-line for the second quarter and first-half of 2018 were primarily driven by higher sales volume, higher London Metal Exchange (LME) prices (an increase of 18 per cent YoY) and the impact of Line 5 recovery in Q2 2017, said a statement from the company.

The company’s total sales/revenues reached BD244 million ($648.9 million) in Q2, up by 36 per cent YoY, compared to BD179.3 million ($476.9 million) in the same period last year, it said.

Earnings per share (EPS) in this quarter were fils 21 versus fils 12 in Q2 2017, it added.

The net profits jumped 46 per cent to BD63 million ($167.5 million) in the first half of this year, compared to BD43.3 million ($115 million) in H1 2017.

The total sales/revenues reached BD465.2 million ($1.237 billion) in H1, up by 26 per cent YoY, compared to BD369.7 million ($983.3 million) in the same period last year. Earnings per share were fils 44 versus fils 31 in H1 2017, said the statement.

Some of Alba’s highlights for Q2 included:
*Production went up by 23 per cent YoY (252,081 mt) while sales volume increase  19 per cent YoY (249,595 mt);
* Alba value-added sales averaged 60 per cent of total shipments in Q2;
* The achieved benefits of Titan – Phase III are $81/MT;
* Line 6 Expansion Project closed first part of 2nd tranche ECA-covered facilities (€204.5 million) and overall progress of the project reached 61 per cent;
* Power Expansion Project (PS 5 & PDS) overall progress reached 63 per cent & 91 per cent.

The company said its priorities for 2018 inlcude: Continued focus on safety initiatives; deliver on Project Titan -Phase III (2018: 1 Million MT & $60/t); leverage strong demand on value-added sales; focus on future upstream opportunities; prepare for the start-up of Line 6: close final part of 2ndECA-covered facility tranche; award remaining packages within second half of the year.

Shaikh Daij Bin Salman Bin Daij Al Khalifa, chairman of Alba’s board of directors, said: “Our company delivered a strong performance in the first half of this year.”

“As we are half-way through the year, we remain fully committed to achieve our targets on the Line 6 Expansion Project,” he said.

Alba’s chief executive officer Tim Murray added: “Safety continues to be our number 1 priority as we move into the difficult summer months.”

“As we are facing many headwinds in the market in particular the impact of higher alumina prices, we will be focused on our Project Titan Program as well as increase our production to offset the market challenges in the second half of this year,” he said.

“I also thank our people for working together on the same tune to make things happen,” he added.  – TradeArabia News Service