Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), the world’s largest aluminium smelter on one site, has reported a profit of BD54.5 million ($145 million) for the third quarter of 2024, up by 215% year-over-year (YoY), versus a profit of BD17.3 million ($46 million) for the same period in 2023. 

 

The company reported Basic and Diluted Earnings per share of fils 39 for Q3 2024 versus fils 12 for the same period in 2023. The Total Comprehensive Income for Q3 2024 stood at BD51 million ($135.6 million) versus for Q3 of 2023 of BD20.8 million ($55.2 million) – up by 145.7% YoY. 

 

Gross Profit for Q3 2024 was BD83.4 million ($221.8 million) versus BD48.6 million ($129.3 million) for the same period in 2023 – up by 71.6% YoY. With regards to the revenue from contracts with customers in Q3 2024, Alba generated BD433.5 million ($1,152.8 million) versus BD400 million ($1,063.7 million) in Q3 2023 - up by 8.4% YoY. 

 

For the nine months of 2024, Alba reported a profit of BD147.5 million ($392.2 million), up by 55.8% YoY, versus a profit of BD94.6 million ($251.7 million) for the same period in 2023. The company reported Basic and Diluted Earnings per Share of fils 104 for the nine months of 2024 versus fils 67 for the same period in 2023. 

Alba’s Total Comprehensive Income for the nine months of 2024 was BD145.3 million ($386.5 million), up by 60.7% YoY, compared to BD90.5 million ($240.6 million) in the same period of 2023. Gross Profit for the nine months of 2024 was BD242.6 million ($645.2 million) versus BD196.4 million ($522.3 million) in the same period of 2023 – up by 23.5% YoY. 

 

Alba generated in the nine months of 2024 revenue from contracts with customers of BD1,175 million ($3,125 million) versus BD1,157 million ($3,077 million) in the same period of 2023 - up by 1.6% YoY. 

 

Total Equity as of 30 September 2024 stood at BD1,885.7 million ($5,015 million), up by 5.4%, versus BD1,789.2 million ($4,758.6 million) as of 31 December 2023. Alba’s Total Assets as of 30 September 2024 were BD2,659.6 million ($7,073.5 million) versus BD2,553.6 million ($6,791.4 million) as of 31 December 2023 - up by 4.2%. 

 

Alba’s top-line and bottom-line were driven by LME prices which increased by 4% in the first nine months of 2024 and 11% YoY in Q3 2024; however, lower premiums down by 15% YoY in the 9 Months of 2024 compared to the previous year, partially offset these gains while premiums inched higher by +2% YoY in Q3 2024 versus the same period in 2023.

 

LME price averaged $2,383/t in Q3 2024, up by 11% YoY. 

Alba’s Operational Highlights

o Production: Q3: 402,568 MT (-2% YoY); 9 Months: 1,212,209 MT (-0.1% YoY).

o Sales Volume: Q3: 431,220 MT (+0.2% YoY); 9 Months: 1,192,041 MT (+0.8% YoY). 

o Value-Added Sales: Q3: 72% vs 68% in 3Q23; 9 Months: 72% versus 67% in 9 months of 2023.

o Achieved savings for the e-Al Hassalah (the Company’s cost improvement programme) of $51.24 million against 2024 target of $60 million. 

Alba Strategic Updates 

o On 16 Sep’24, Alba announced a non-binding agreement with Ma’aden to commence due diligence towards a potential business combination with segments of Ma’aden aluminium strategic business unit.

o Alba appointed advisors to guide its due diligence process as it explores a potential business combination with Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) - additional updates will be provided on an ongoing basis 

 

Commenting on the company’s performance for the nine months of 2024, Alba’s Board of Directors Chairman Khalid Al Rumaihi stated: “Despite navigating a complex global landscape, Alba has demonstrated its resilience and ability to deliver strong financial results. Our focus on operational efficiency, combined with strategic initiatives, has enabled us to achieve higher top-line and bottom-line performance.

“As we move towards the end of 2024, we remain focused on capitalising on emerging opportunities and deliver sustainable value to our shareholders.” 

Alba’s Chief Executive Officer Ali Al Baqali added: “At Alba, we believe that safety and productivity are mutually inclusive. By prioritising both, we have created a culture that has allowed us to consistently deliver strong results. 

“Our commitment to safety has enabled us to achieve to-date more than 26 million safe working hours without LTI.” – TradeArabia News Service