Major exit: Sumitomo Chemical pulls out of aluminium smelting and resale businesses

Japanese industry giant Sumitomo Chemical has announced its decision to sell its 2.97 per cent stake in Nippon Amazon Aluminium Co., Ltd. (NAAC) to YKK AP Inc. The sale amount remains undisclosed.

This move, coupled with the previously announced sale of shares in two overseas aluminium smelting companies in May 2024, marks the company's complete withdrawal from the resale business of imported aluminium ingots.

Aluminium resale is often subject to global price volatility, geopolitical factors, and supply-demand imbalances. The company might seek to mitigate its financial exposure to these risks by stepping away.

Sumitomo Chemical’s inorganic materials business, which includes aluminium and alumina, builds on the technological prowess, human talent, and other business resources developed in the Company’s aluminium smelting business. As for high-purity aluminium and high-purity alumina manufactured at Ehime Works, Sumitomo Chemical will invest more resources to expand its business, focusing on high-value-added fields such as semiconductors and life sciences.

The Sumitomo Chemical Group is intensifying its short-term performance enhancement initiatives to achieve a robust V-shaped recovery in fiscal 2024. These measures also aim to fortify the Group's financial foundation, paving the way for strategic structural reforms and advancing the transformation of its business portfolio.

Image credit: Sumitomo Chemicals website