Alba made a loss of BD 11.6 million in Q3 2020 as its Revenue from Contracts with Customers declined 8.5% YoY

Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) has reported its financial results for the third quarter and nine months of 2020, revealing that it experienced a loss of BD 11.6 million (US$31 million) in Q3, up by 209 per cent year-on-year from a profit of BD 10.7 million (US$28.4 million). In total nine months of the year, Alba made a loss of BD22.3 million (US$59.2 million), up by 164 per cent year-on-year from a Loss of BD8.4 million (US$22.4 million).

With regards to the Revenue from Contracts with Customers in the third quarter of 2020, Alba generated BD262.7 million (US$698.6 million) versus BD287.1 million (US$763.6 million) in Q3 2019 - down by 8.5 per cent YoY. During January-September, total Revenue from Contracts with Customers reached BD782.6 million (US$2,081.5 million), up by 6% YoY from BD735.7 million (US$1,956.7 million).

Alba’s total equity as of September 30 this year stood at BD 1,046.2 million (US$ 2,782.4 million), down by 3 per cent from BD 1,078.6 million (US$2,868.6 million) as of December 31, 2019. Total Assets as of September 30 stood at BD 2,382.3 million (US$6,335.9 million) versus BD 2,420.2 million (US$6,436.8 million) as of December 31 last year - down by 1.6%.

Alba’s top-line was driven by higher metal sales’ volume in the third quarter of 2020, thanks to Line 6 and partially offset by lower LME price, while the bottom-line was impacted by higher depreciation, financial charges and foreign exchange losses.

Alba reported that the world aluminium consumption in Q3 2020 was down by 4 per cent year-on-year, as the COVID-19 impact on aluminium demand continued in major markets. However, only in China, aluminium demand increased by 3 per cent year-on-year, owing to the government’s stimulus packages.

During the September quarter, Alba achieved 24.5 Million Safe Working-Hours w/o LTI and launched its first virtual Summer Safety Campaign ‘Our Safety is in Our Hands’. It also received two major awards from Middle East Investor Relations Association (MEIRA), signed MoU with the University of Bahrain to enhance scientific and research cooperation, and hosted virtual ‘Market Update’ sessions for its customers in partnership with CRU.

Commenting on Alba’s financial performance for Q3 and 9-months of 2020, the Chairman of Alba’s Board of Directors, Shaikh Daij Bin Salman Bin Daij Al Khalifa, stated: “We are all in this together and COVID-19 showed us that nothing is more important than our Safety. At Alba, Safety of our people and contractors’ employees, is and will remain our number one priority. Like all businesses, our performance has been relatively dampened due to COVID-19 impacts and despite our operational resilience.”

Alba’s Chief Executive Officer, Ali Al Baqali, said: “We continue to navigate through these unprecedented times by focusing on what we control best: Safety of our People, Efficient Operations and Lean Cost Structure. We also remain optimistic that with the agility of our people and strategic capabilities, we will get back on track and stronger than before.”