EGA records 34% rise in net profit in H1 2026 despite Al Taweelah production cut

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Emirates Global Aluminium reported resilient financial performance for the first half of 2026 despite logistical and geopolitical disruptions arising from the regional conflict in the Gulf since March.

EGA delivered Adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) of AED 4,506 million (USD 1,227 million), up 11 per cent from AED 4,065 million (USD 1,107 million) in H1 2025. The increase was driven by higher realised aluminium prices, stronger regional premiums, lower alumina prices and disciplined cost management.

Adjusted EBITDA margin rose to 33 per cent in H1 2026 from 27 per cent in H1 2025, an increase of 6 percentage points.

After recognising an AED 84 million (USD 23 million) impact related to an Iranian attack on KEZAD that led to an emergency shutdown, reported EBITDA stood at AED 4,422 million (USD 1,204 million).

Adjusted net profit increased by 34 per cent to AED 2,462 million (USD 670 million), compared with AED 1,836 million (USD 500 million) in H1 2025, reflecting strong EBITDA generation, coupled with lower net financial charges and lower taxes.

Reported net income was AED 1,737 million (USD 473 million) in H1 2026, after recognising a net impact of AED 725 million (USD 197 million) related to the incident.

The Board approved an H1 2026 interim dividend of AED 1,726 million (USD 470 million), representing a 70 per cent payout ratio to adjusted net income.

Revenue, however, decreased by 10.2 per cent to AED 13,544 million (USD 3,688 million) in H1 2026 from AED 15,079 million (USD 4,106 million) in H1 2025. The decline was due to lower sales volumes following the incident at Al Taweelah, partially offset by higher realised aluminium prices.

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Al Taweelah shutdown cuts alumina and aluminium production

The impact of the disruption was most evident at Al Taweelah, where the alumina refinery produced 602,000 tonnes of alumina in H1 2026, compared with 1.14 million tonnes in H1 2025, following the shutdown of production on 28 March.

Production restarted in early July and reached 50 per cent of pre-incident production levels within days. The pace of further ramp-up will be determined by supply chain considerations and the optimisation of EGA's alumina sourcing strategy.

Cast metal production decreased to 1 million tonnes in H1 2026 from 1.42 million tonnes in H1 2025, primarily due to reduced production at Al Taweelah. Jebel Ali maintained uninterrupted production throughout the period.

Basic utilities have been restored across the site, with natural gas and electricity availability projected to ramp up in line with the needs of the restart programme.

To resume hot metal production at Al Taweelah smelter, EGA must progressively restore each of the 1,262 reduction cells. The first restored reduction cell was restarted on May 26 at Potline 1. EGA has energised all three potlines, marking an important milestone in the restoration effort and ramp-up of operations at Al Taweelah. As of Monday, 227 reduction cells, 18 per cent of the total, had been successfully restarted.

Hot metal production is expected to gradually ramp up as reduction cells are progressively restored and is expected to reach pre-incident levels in Q1 2027.

The new Al Taweelah recycling plant is also progressing with its ramp-up. Production initially began in February, but after the incident, ramp-up resumed in May. The recycling plant is currently running at approximately 10 per cent capacity, with ramp-up to full production expected by late Q4 2026.

The capital expenditure required to restore production at Al Taweelah is expected to be approximately AED 1.5 billion (USD 400 million), with most of the expenditure expected during 2026 and some during 2027.

Alternative export routes support shipment recovery

The production disruption was accompanied by a sharp decline in aluminium sales. Total aluminium sales were down 32 per cent to 939,000 tonnes in H1 2026, compared with 1.37 million tonnes in H1 2025.

Logistics constraints arising from the regional conflict led to the temporary suspension of new outbound shipments from the UAE in March and an increase in domestic metal inventories.

EGA has since established alternative export routes through ports outside the Strait of Hormuz. This has enabled a gradual increase in shipment capacity and a reduction in UAE stockpiles.

Recovery to pre-incident shipment levels is currently expected to be contingent on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. However, the ongoing development of alternative corridors is expected to reduce reliance on the strait over the longer term.

EGA also secured its inbound logistics, ensuring raw material deliveries exceed the requirements of Jebel Ali and the restart at Al Taweelah. This enabled the rebuilding of strategic inventories and reinforced operational continuity.

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Safety, sustainability and Oklahoma project progress

EGA sustained its focus on workforce safety, recording a Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate of 1.26 per million hours worked in H1 2026.

The company also continued to advance its environmental agenda, growing its low-carbon CelestiAL and MinimAL product lines and progressing its long-term decarbonisation strategy, while maintaining Aluminium Stewardship Initiative certification across its UAE operations.

EGA continued to progress primary aluminium growth through the Oklahoma Primary Aluminum project. In Q1 2026, Century Aluminum signed a joint development agreement with EGA to join the project as a minority partner, with EGA owning 60 per cent of the joint venture and Century owning the remaining 40 per cent.

During the period, the project advanced key commercial, permitting and technical workstreams towards the start of construction, with first aluminium production expected by the end of the decade.

The 750,000 tonnes per year plant is expected to be the first new smelter built in the United States since 1980, doubling American primary aluminium production. The plant will use EGA’s latest EX technology, the most advanced ever installed in the United States.

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