Chalco’s aluminium production fell 14% YoY in H1 2019; Alumina output rose 3.2%

Chalco, formally known as Aluminium Corporation of China Limited, said its primary aluminium production in the first half of 2019 came in at 1.89 million tonnes, down 8 per cent from 2.06 million tonnes in the same period last year, according to Reuters report. Decline in aluminium prices and rise in operating costs had hit the Chinese smelters and thus their production, as per the report.

As Chalco said, lower aluminium prices and higher operating costs also weighed on its net profit, which fell 14 per cent year-on-year to RMB 705.8 million during January-June.

Chalco’s aluminium output level stood just ahead of Russian rival Rusal which produced 1.87 million tonnes during January-June 2019, but below China Hongqiao Group whose production clocked at 2.86 million tonnes during the said period.

Along with the production, Chalco’s average aluminium sales price also dropped 4.4 per cent year-on-year to RMB 13,778 per tonne in H1 2019.

Shanghai aluminium prices struggled to move away from two-year lows in the first six months of 2019, which led smelters to reduce output in a bit to cut losses.

In January, Chalco closed a 200,000 tonnes per year plant in Shandong and in the next year said to transfer another 190,000 tonnes per year of capacity from a unit in Shanxi to southwestern province in Yunnan.

The production of alumina at Chalco, however, rose 3.2% year-on-year to 6.82 million tonnes, said the company.