Vedanta Aluminium reported record quarterly production across aluminium, alumina and value-added products in Q2 FY27, supported by capacity expansion and efficiency improvements. Vedanta Aluminium Metal Limited, India’s largest aluminium producer, recorded its highest-ever quarterly aluminium production of 649,000 tonnes in Q2 FY27, up 5 per cent year on year from 617,000 tonnes in Q2 FY26. Aluminium output also increased 3 per cent quarter on quarter from 632,000 tonnes in Q1 FY27. For the first half of FY27, production reached a record 1,281,000 tonnes, up 5 per cent from 1,222,000 tonnes in H1 FY26. The company attributed the increase to new smelter volumes and efficiency improvements across existing production lines. Alumina output jumps 37 per cent Vedanta Aluminium’s alumina...
Asian aluminium premiums are facing more pressure ahead of Q4 talks. CRU’s Asia CIF aluminium premium is now USD 202 per tonne, well below the USD 395 per tonne Main Japanese Port (MJP) Q3 benchmark. MJP Q4 offers have also dropped sharply. They fell from USD 325 per tonne in early September to USD 245–260 per tonne as the new quarter approaches. This shows weaker sentiment in the market. Aluminium premiums are under pressure across Asia, especially in Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan. These markets are more exposed to spot price changes, so premiums can move quickly when supply or demand changes. Explore the production, demand and consumption forecasts of bauxite and alumina in our report: " Global Bauxite & Alumina Market Forecast to 2036: Supply–Demand, Trade Flows & Price Outlook " Premiums...
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Vedanta Aluminium Ltd (VAL) has sought extension of SEZ (Special Economic Zone) benefits for its 1.25 million tonne aluminium smelter project at Jharsuguda. VAL has already invested Rs 12,000 crore on the smelter complex. The project was set up as a sector specific SEZ for producing aluminium metal in line with the notification of the Union commerce ministry. “We have been passing through great difficulties and are struggling to sustain our production in non-SEZ facilities. Despite incurring huge losses every day, we intend to start the SEZ facility immediately after we are extended the facilities,” Abhijit Pati, president and chief operating officer of VAL’s Jharsuguda unit wrote to Odisha chief secretary, J K Mohapatra. The aluminium smelter plant is on the risk of turning unviable amid...
Industrial activity is on the rise in Abu Dhabi as the emirate’s drive towards sustainable economic diversification under Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030 gathers pace. The recently opened Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad) is likely to be a key engine of growth for the emirate, while a recent multi-billion dollar merger between the UAE’s two aluminium manufacturers is also set to bolster plans for industrial expansion, Global Arab Network reports according to OBG. The manufacturing sector has performed well in recent years, with growth doubling from 11% in 2010 to 22% in 2011, according to the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development. Net profits for manufacturing companies listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange were up 109% year-on-year in 2012. Kizad, which was...
Analysts at Credit Suisse lowered their target price on shares of Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. from $7.00 to $6.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Stock Ratings Network.com reports. Credit Suisse’s price target suggests a potential upside of 96.08% from the stock’s previous close. Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. traded up 4.44% on Thursday, hitting $3.06. 209,561 shares of the company’s stock traded hands. Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. has a 1-year low of $2.93 and a 1-year high of $7.85. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $3.20 and its 200-day moving average is $3.99. The company’s market cap is $208.1 million. Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per...
The 3-month price of aluminum saw the biggest decline of the day, dropping 1.3 percent on the LME to close at $1,905 per metric ton on Wednesday, August 21. On the LME, the primary aluminum cash price declined 1.3 percent to $1,848 per metric ton. The cash price of primary Indian aluminum, following a couple days of improvement, weakened by 0.2 percent. Chinese aluminum prices were mixed for the day. The Chinese aluminum cash price fell 0.2 percent. The price of Chinese aluminum scrap continues hovering in place for the fifth day in a row. The price of Chinese aluminum billet held steady. The price of Chinese aluminum bar saw essentially no change for the fifth day in a row.
LME aluminium may hover above a support at $1,879 per tonne for one trading session before breaking this level and falling further to $1,853. The support is provided by the 61.8 percent Fibonacci projection level of a downward wave c, strengthened by another one at $1,882, the 38.2 percent Fibonacci retracement on the rise from the Aug. 7 low of $1,773.25 to Aug. 19 high of $1,949. The wave c is capable of travelling the same distance as the preceding wave a, to arrive at $1,853, its 100 percent Fibonacci projection level. However, this target will only be confirmed when the metal drops below $1,870. No information in this analysis should be considered as being business, financial or legal advice. Each reader should consult his or her own professional or other advisers for business,...
The Finance Ministry has asked ministry of mines to expedite the Cabinet note on stake sale in Hindustan Zinc (HZL) and Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO), say exclusive CNBC-TV18 sources. The Finance Ministry has also proposed that stake sale should be via the auction route. HZL and Balco are erstwhile public sector firms that were sold to mining major Vedanta Resources during 2001-03. The government may have to obtain a no objection certificate from Vedanta for the auction sale. It is also leant that the finance secretary believes that large amounts have been blocked in these assets and hence divestment must be done on a priority basis. The government has a residual stake of 29.5 percent stake in Hindustan Zinc and 49 percent stake in Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO) and the divestment...
Meridian Energy - the jewel in the Government's portfolio of crown assets - may be worth nearly $2 billion less than it was valued at a year ago when it is finally listed. In its 2012 statement of corporate intent released in September last year Meridian Energy estimated its commercial value to the Crown to be $6.579 billion as of June 30 based on an independent valuation by accounting firm PwC. That valuation included a 20 per cent premium for full control of the company which cannot be counted in its float value because the Government only intends to sell up to 49 per cent. Taking account of the premium knocks $1.32 billion off the value. Meridian also wrote off a further $476 million last week after renegotiating its contract for the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter, putting the value at...
Aluminium prices edged up by 0.74% to INR 122.85 per kg in futures trade today as participants engaged in enlarging positions, supported by a firming overseas trend. Further, better demand in the spot markets also influenced metal prices. At the Multi Commodity Exchange, aluminium for delivery in September up by 90 paise, or 0.74%, to INR 122.85 per kg in business turnover of 45 lots. Likewise, aluminium for delivery in August traded higher by 85 paise, or 0.71%, to INR 121.30 per kg in 297 lots. Marketmen said apart from increased domestic demand, a firming trend in base metals overseas as manufacturing index in China increased in August from an 11-month low, adding to signs the world's second-biggest economy is stabilizing, supported the upside in aluminum prices at futures trade. In...
Two Kentucky electric cooperatives are teaming up on a deal that will save hundreds of jobs at an aluminum smelter they serve. Century Aluminum of Kentucky will now be supplied with electricity procured on the open market by Big Rivers Electric Corp. and distributed by Kenergy Corp. Both the G&T and the distribution co-op are based in Henderson. “Many of the employees at the Hawesville smelter are Kenergy members,” said Greg Starheim, president and CEO of the co-op. “There are also a lot of spinoff jobs associated with the plant’s operations, so this was a major economic development project for us.” A series of agreements announced by the Kentucky Public Service Commission staved off a crisis, which could have led to closure of the smelter, eliminating 700 jobs. “The agreements are...
Negotiations for term premiums for primary aluminum exported to Japan in the fourth quarter are expected to start Thursday or Friday after one overseas supplier makes an offer to Japanese buyers, sources said Wednesday. The negotiations take place amid falling spot premiums in Europe and North America, down around 5% from late May when the third-quarter premiums were being negotiated. The premiums fell in response to the July 1 London Metal Exchange warehouse reform proposal, aimed at increasing availability of warehoused aluminum in the market, sources said. Asian premiums, however, have not moved in tandem with the European and the North American premiums so far. Platts spot Japanese import premiums have risen to $250-251/mt plus London Metal Exchange cash, CIF main Japanese ports, from...
Record imports of fertiliser and a resurgence of log exports were not enough to make up for the business lost to South Port when New Zealand Aluminium Smelters (NZAS) cut production at its Tiwai aluminium smelter. The operator of Bluff's port reported cargo volume declined by 7 percent to 2.51 million tonnes in the year ended June 30 from a record in the previous year. Approximately 100,000 tonnes, or about 56 percent, of the reduction in volume related to NZAS, which continues to operate the smelter 15 percent below its normal capacity. Still, South Port reported a record after-tax profit of $6.5 million, up 8.5 percent on the previous year, and beating the previous peak of $6.26 million set in 2011. Operating profit before financing costs and tax increased by 8 percent to $9 million....
Aluminium producer Dubal has floated a tender for the third phase of a plant-wide upgrade of its air-conditoning units. The work will include all associated ducting, design, installation, cladding and integration of new units with existing ones. Dubal said that it is seeking bids from companies "with a proven track record of supply and installation of A/C units and associated works in live industrial environments in GCC countries". Dubal's plant at Jebel Ali is one of the largest single-site aluminiumn smelters in the world, capable of producing over one million tonnes of finished aluminium products a year. The site contains a primary aluminium smelter, a 2,350MW power station, a large carbon plant, a 30m gallon per day desalination plant and casting operations capable of producing 1.2m...
Kumar Mangalam Birla, the chairman of Aditya Birla Group, will invest INR 2,165 crore by October to raise his stake by 5% to 37% in Hindalco Industries by converting 15 crore preferential warrants into equity shares, a group executive with direct knowledge of Birla's plans said. The company, India's largest aluminium producer, had issued warrants to Birla in March 2012 with a conversion price of INR 144.35 a piece, a 54% premium to Wednesday's closing price of 93.35. Birla, who has already paid INR 541 crore in March 2012 to convert 10% of the preferential warrants, will lose the initial deposit if he does not convert all the warrants. "Birla will convert the preferential warrants into equity shares," another group executive confirmed. Birla, who owned only 17% of the company a decade...
LME aluminium is expected to revisit its Tuesday low of $1,892 per tonne, as a drop from the recent high of $1,949 has not completed. The drop may be composed of three waves labelled a, b, c. The wave b seems to have completed within a resistance zone of $1,914-$1,921, formed by the 38.2 percent and the 50 percent Fibonacci retracements on the fall from $1,949 to $1,892. The downward wave c may have started, progressing towards $1,882, its 61.8 percent Fibonacci projection level. Resistance is at $1,921, a rise above which may be capped at $1,927, the 61.8 percent retracement.
ICICI Securities has maintained 'Reduce' on National Aluminium Company (NALCO) with target price of Rs 27 as against current market price (CMP) of Rs 26 in its report. Commenting on the investment rationale, ICICI Securities said, ''National Aluminium Company (NALCO) reported lower than expected Q1FY14 earnings results, with 12% top line and 20% EBITDA disappointment. The disappointment came in Alumina and Aluminium production as well higher-than-expected power and fuel costs. Despite getting 89% linkage allotment, NALCO (Q,N,C,F)* witnessed Rs 400/te QoQ increase in coal costs. To note here, the premiums achieved on Aluminium sales are much more market linked compared to that for Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO) and Vedanta Aluminium (VAL; USD 216/te for Q1FY14). The company undertook...
A western Kentucky electric utility is telling customers their rates will increase by more than 20 percent after its power supplier lost its biggest customer, an aluminum smelter. Jackson Purchase Energy Corp. is telling ratepayers their electric bills will increase by an average of about $22 a month. The higher rates begin Tuesday. The utility's power supplier, Big Rivers Electric Corp, recently lost the Century Aluminum smelter in Hawesville as a customer. Big Rivers is requesting a $68.6 million rate increase to cover the losses. "No one likes to see our members have to pay more for electricity," Jackson Purchase Energy chief executive Kelly Nuckols said in a statement. "Especially in a situation like this when it is totally beyond our control." Nuckols said the utility is attempting...
The mining giant Glencore Xstrata reported sharply lower results on Tuesday after it wrote down $7.7 billion on the value of assets it acquired as part of the merger that created the company. However, it defended its long-delayed merger three months ago, saying that cost savings would be higher than expected. During the first half of the year, the new company posted a net loss of $8.9 billion (6.6 billion euros), owing to merger write-downs. The group's shares have fallen by about 11.0 percent since the merger. Despite the dramatic switch from the $2.2 net profit the business made a year earlier, on a comparable asset base, it said it expected to pay an interim dividend and said merger benefits would be bigger than expected. "We continue to work tirelessly and diligently to maximise...
Russia's Rusal , the world's largest aluminium producer by output, may delay the start of production at one of its biggest projects, seeking to ease a global glut of the metal. Rusal , led by Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska, and other big aluminium makers are cutting output in response to record inventories and stubbornly low prices of aluminium, used in vehicles and packaging. U.S. producer Alcoa Inc, Rusal's main rival, last week suspended production at smelters in Brazil as part of a review of its capacity. Rusal reported a steeper-than-expected loss for the second quarter earlier on Monday and said it may postpone the start of production at its Boguchansk smelter in Siberia to 2014. "Very probable that we would not start it this year and postpone it till the next year," first deputy...
