Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the world’s largest producer of premium aluminium, revealed its financial and operational results for 2024, showcasing increased revenue and Adjusted EBITDA, driven by higher alumina and hot metal production, cost optimisation, and increased share of value-added product sales. A notable rise in low-carbon CelestiAL aluminium production and secondary metal output was another key highlight in the results.
Financial and operational results
EGA reported that its annual revenue increased by 1.69 per cent in 2024, amounting to AED 30 billion ($8.2 billion) versus AED 29.5 billion ($8.0 billion) in 2023. The company’s Adjusted EBITDA was AED 9.2 billion ($2.5 billion), reflecting a surge of 19.48 per cent from AED 7.7 billion ($2.1 billion), attributed to higher realised all-in aluminium and bauxite prices, in addition to alumina and primary aluminium production growth.
In 2024, EGA’s alumina production reached a record high of 2.54 million tonnes, marking a 2.42 per cent increase from 2.48 million tonnes the previous year. Aluminium production also hit a new peak of 2.69 million tonnes, up from 2.66 million tonnes in 2023. The output of low-carbon celestiAL aluminium also grew over the year by 33.33 per cent from 66,000 tonnes to 80,000 tonnes in 2024, with the share of value-added products or ‘premium aluminium’ standing at 82 per cent versus 76 per cent.
Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, said: “During 2024, we significantly advanced our strategy to grow in low carbon aluminium, both laying the foundations for low carbon primary expansion and taking material steps in the development of a global recycling business. With acquisitions in Germany and the United States, and progress developing the UAE’s largest recycling plant, by the end of 2024 we had 140 thousand tonnes of secondary production capacity on an annualised basis, with a further 225 thousand tonnes of secondary capacity under construction.”
Low-lights of the year
However, on the other hand, the growth in EGA’s financial performance was slightly offset by a decline in cast metal sales and an increase in alumina prices, resulting in a net profit of AED 2.6 billion ($715 million) in 2024 versus AED 3.4 billion ($937 million) in 2023. Cast metal sales in 2024 were 2.74 million tonnes against 2.75 million tonnes in 2023.
Mr Kalban further explained 2024 was largely driven by volatile price dynamics across the world, with primary aluminium prices looming on the upward trend on the London Metal Exchange, averaging $2,392 per tonne versus $2,264 per tonne in 2023. Similarly, alumina prices reached sky-high due to operational issues in Australia and India and supply constraints in the bauxite market, including from EGA’s Guinea Alumina Corporation.
Strategic decision
In line with the projection of demand growth for low-carbon primary aluminium by more than three-fold by 2040, EGA has shifted its focus to low-carbon metal production, intending to strengthen its position in the specific sector. It has formed an alliance with UAE renewable energy giant Masdar to work together on aluminium decarbonisation and growth, broke ground on pilot reduction cells for its next generation EX smelting technology, which would reduce greenhouse gas emissions intensity by up to 12 per cent, and implemented a digital tracking system for greenhouse gas emissions to enhance transparency and accelerate decarbonisation.
2025 outlook
The volatility in aluminium prices is likely to continue in 2025 due to the ongoing tensions in global trade, while alumina prices are expected to be relatively stable as more capacities are coming online.
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