Alba reports Q1 results: Collapse of all-in-aluminium prices eats into top-line and earnings

Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) announced the release of its first quarter of 2016 results on Monday, May 2, 2016.

Commenting on Q1 2016 Results, the Chairman of Alba’s Board of Directors, Daij Bin Salman Bin Daij Al Khalifa: “Despite weak market sentiment coupled with low LME prices, Alba still recorded positive Net Income.

Line 6 continues to gain momentum and we look forward to work with Bechtel who got recently appointed as EPCM contractor.”

Q1 2016 Industry Highlights:

• World consumption up by 5 per cent YoY while world production up by 1 per cent YoY
• Q1 2016 cash-average was $1,515/t down by 16 per cent YoY
• Significant drop in global physical premiums
• LME inventories at 2.8 million metric tonnes (mt) in March

Q1 2016 Alba Highlights:

• Continuous improvement in safety performance
• Sales figures up by 1.4 per cent YoY (231,538 mt)
• Value-Added Sales averaged 52 per cent of total shipments
• Launch of Project Titan – Phase II with the aim to streamline cash-cost by US$100 per mt and boost Alba’s production capacity to reach 1 million mt per annum by end of 2017

Q1 2016 Financial Results:

The company’s top-line and earnings performance for the first quarter of 2016 were driven primarily by the collapse of all-in-aluminium prices.

Alba reported a Total Sales of BD 156.5 million (US$ 416 million) versus BD 206.6 million (US$ 549 million) for the first quarter of 2015, a drop of 24 per cent YoY; while Net Income stood at BD 4.2 million (US$ 11 million) as compared to BD 37.2 million (US$ 99 million) for the same period in 2015.

Alba’s Chief Executive Officer, Tim Murray added: “Alba was able to sustain its intrinsic financial performance in the face of very difficult market conditions thanks to the support of our dedicated workforce.

We will continue to drive operational performance and ‘”Doing more than necessary”’ to bolster Alba’s performance despite the challenging market conditions.”

2016 Alba Priorities:

• Continuous Focus on Safety Initiatives & Talent Management
• Deliver on Project Titan - Phase II
• Line 6 in progress: Bechtel appointed as EPCM Contractor

Alba's Management will be holding a conference call on Tuesday, May 3, 2016 to discuss Alba's financial performance for the first quarter of 2016 as well as outline the company's priorities for the remainder of the year.