Ma’aden’s aluminium business delivered strong revenue growth in Q2 2026 as higher realised prices lifted the segment, although weaker phosphate and ammonia guidance creates a mixed operating backdrop. Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) saw aluminium revenue rise 49 per cent year on year to USD 1.01 billion in Q2 2026, with realised aluminium prices increasing 51 per cent to USD 3,915 per tonne. Read more about Maaden aluminium revenue jump in Q2 2026 The stronger aluminium performance provides the clearest quantified growth signal in Ma’aden’s latest operating picture. However, revised production guidance for phosphate and ammonia adds a counterweight as investors assess the company’s broader portfolio. Higher aluminium prices drive revenue growth The aluminium division produced...
Precimeter just unveiled LynCor at ALUMINIUM 2026. This is our new hardware and software platform for automated molten metal level control. Along with the platform we unveiled the first product in the series, LynCor ProH laser camera sensor. Together the platform and the laser camera sensor marks the next step in our development of more connected, reliable and efficient casthouse automation. Laser camera sensors have been at the core of our business since 1995. Over three decades, we have seen how heat, slag, metal splashes and limited process visibility challenge casting operations. When maintenance interrupts production or a process issue leaves no recorded evidence, the consequences extend beyond the sensor itself. LynCor brings measurement, connectivity and diagnostics together to...
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Australia's high-cost aluminium production is in the firing line amid sliding prices, with global giant Alcoa confirming its Victorian smelters are prime targets for capacity closures and Rio Tinto being urged to cut production from local assets. Alcoa, which kicked off the US reporting season with a second-quarter net loss of $130m this week, said it was committed to closing high-cost production as part of a review of 460,000 tonnes, or 11 per cent, of annual capacity. Rio's big aluminium unit, which was acquired in the $US40 billion acquisition of Alcan in 2007, is also coming under pressure to cut production as prospects for asset sales dwindle. Credit Suisse said Rio should be next after Alcoa's review, which followed an earlier shutdown of more than 500,000 tonnes of annual capacity...
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C ( Alba ) was able to increase its overall sales on the back of higher production. Its sales figures for H1 2013 rose by 1.9% year-on-year to 454,428 metric tonnes (mt) ahead of the company's own forecast for the period. Production figures year-to-date were up by 2% -- reaching 452,727 mt versus 443,533 mt for the same period in 2012. In addition, Alba was able to capitalise on the sound demand of Value- Added products and closed the first half of 2013 with an average of 66% of total shipments versus 65% for the same period in 2012. Commenting on Alba 's sales and production for H1 2013, Alba 's Chief Executive, Tim Murray said: " Alba 's overall sales figures continued to gain momentum thanks to the successful implementation of a focused marketing strategy on the...
US-based aluminium maker Aloca has confirmed that its Victorian smelters are being considered for closure as it comes under pressure to reduce production. Alcoa reported a second-quarter net loss of $US 119 million this week, and has said that it would end high-cost smelter production as part of a 15-month review of its capacity announced in May. "We've got high-cost capacity in Australia, we've got high-cost capacity in southern Europe and we've got some higher-cost capacity in parts of Brazil," The Australian reports CFO Bill Oplinger as telling investors during a conference call earlier this week. The company’s two Victorian smelters, at Port Henry and Portland in Victoria, are two of its most expensive in the country. According to Aloca, these produce 30 per cent of the country’s...
Alcoa Inc.'s chief executive said Monday that he wasn't concerned about the rollout of a London Metal Exchange warehousing policy that may limit demand for the company's metal. Warehouses licensed by the LME have emerged as a source of demand for aluminum in recent years as banks and commodities traders took advantage of cheap financing to steer metal into their facilities. That metal has been slow to come back out even as aluminum demand rose, and the LME said last week that it wants to require facilities experiencing logjams to release more metal than they take in. Analysts say that the rule could limit demand for aluminum from warehouse owners, and lead to more metal making its way on to the market. That could further depress the already-weak aluminum price and, in turn, Alcoa's...
Alcoa Inc., the largest US aluminium producer, reported earnings that beat analysts’ estimates after a better-than-expected performance at its unit that supplies components to aerospace and power companies. Profit excluding expenses related to output cuts and a legal settlement were 7 cents a share, the New York-based company said in a statement Monday after the close of trading, beating the 6-cent average of 15 estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sales fell 1.9% to $5.85 billion, surpassing the $5.79 billion average of nine estimates. Alcoa’s engineered products and solutions business saw operating income rise 12% from the first quarter, surpassing the 5% improvement forecast by the company back in April. It’s boosting sales at downstream divisions as chairman and chief executive officer...
Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp.‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by Jefferies Group in a research note issued on Monday, Stock Ratings Network.com reports. They currently have a $4.25 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $4.75. Jefferies Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 30.77% from the stock’s previous close. The analysts wrote, “We mark to market our 2Q13 estimates for NOR, with one-month lagged aluminum prices lower than expected at $0.84/lb (compared to $0.91/lb estimate), lowering our estimate to a loss of $0.08 from a profit of $0.01. This lowers our 2013E EPS to $0.06 from $0.13. Our forward estimates remain unchanged.” Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. traded up 2.46% on Monday, hitting $3.33. Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp....
The Aluminum Association announced today the hiring of Joe Quinn as the Vice President of Public Affairs, effective July 15. Quinn will oversee the policy communications, advocacy strategies and media relations for the trade group. Prior to joining the Aluminum Association, Quinn served as Vice President at Edelman, the largest public relations firm in the world, where he led public affairs and corporate reputation programs for Walmart, Toyota and the American Petroleum Institute, among others. He previously held the role of Managing Director at Xenophon Strategies, Inc. "Joe has a breadth of knowledge in communications and strategic public affairs, as well as experience inside Washington, and I'm glad to have him on board at the Association," said Pat Franc, Aluminum Association Chairman...
Alcoa Inc remains optimistic that global demand for aluminum will grow 7 percent this year, driven largely by demand from the aerospace and commercial transportation sectors, the largest aluminum producer in the United States said on Monday. The company also reported a larger-than-expected profit on productivity gains across all units, and strong performance from its engineered products and solutions business, which makes high-margin goods like aerospace fasteners, turbine blades and truck wheels. Excluding the impact of restructuring costs and costs tied to a legacy legal matter, Alcoa reported second quarter earnings of $76 million, or 7 cents a share. Analysts had been expecting earnings of 6 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. "It looks much better than expected. It is good...
Energy expert, Dr Charles Wereko-Brobby, has said VALCO must not be shut down, but must be made to pay realistic tariffs. He said instead of subsidising VALCO’s energy tariffs, companies that benefit from the smelter’s operation must come together to contribute to the overall tariff of the company. Dr Wereko-Brobby explained: “without VALCO, all the aluminium companies would have to import ingots and then buy electricity from ECG at a high rate so that they can melt those ingots and use them”. Dr Wereko-Brobbey, who disagreed with a World Bank report which suggested the closure of the Volta Aluminium Company Ltd (VALCO) because it is a drain on the sector, said VALCO already delivers the melted ingots to the aluminum companies without them having to go through the difficulty of buying...
PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Inalum) will be back to the Indonesian government on November 1, 2013, industry minister MS Hidayat said. "We have agreed on October 31, 2013 (the contract would end) and all Inalum assets would be handed over to the Indonesian government. On October 31 physically it will be back to the government while the assets transfer would be done on November 1," he said after a meeting at the office of the coordinating minister for economic affairs here on Monday. He said Inalum products would later be used to supply companies in Indonesia, adding the company would become a state-owned company. He said the government is now preparing a budget for the acquisition of the company now still under the name of Nippon Asahan Aluminium (NAA) worth Rp7 trillion. "The...
Eurozone finance minister agreed overnight to release bailout funds to Greece, pushing the euro up. Sustainable recovery in the US economy drove US stocks up. The US dollar index inched down as a result, boosting commodity prices. However, longs are cautious ahead of upcoming Chinese economic indicators and US Fed policy meeting. LME aluminum regained the 5-day and 10-day moving averages and broke through USD 1,800/mt during the European session thanks to short-covering. Later, LME aluminum was stagnant at the 5-day moving average due to shrinking trading volumes before finally closing at USD 1,803/mt, up USD 32/mt or 1.81%. LME aluminum inventories added 1,075 mt to 5,419,875 mt, but positions were off 422 lots to 766,224 lots. China will announce CPI and PPI for June, with profits at...
A consultant's report has called on aluminium producers, including BHP Billiton Ltd and Rio Tinto Ltd, to cut capacity in a bid to end the sector's prolonged stretch of limited profitability, according to The Australian Financial Review. The report's co-author, Boston Consulting Group's global leader for metals and mining Alexander Koch, said there is a consensus within the aluminium sector that the oversupply issue must be addressed but that no individual company is willing to be the first to act. “It's one of those situations where either capacity reduces at some point to be in tune with demand or you just prolong structural low profitability,” Mr Koch told the AFR. “The scale of the problem is too daunting to be resolved by individual companies acting independently and in their own...
A Montenegrin court has launched bankruptcy proceedings at the country's single biggest industrial employer, indebted aluminium plant Kombinat Aluminijuma Podgorica (KAP), a court official said on Monday. Proceedings were set in motion over a 24-million euro ($30.8 million) debt to Deutsche Bank, the deputy head of the Commercial Court in Podgorica, Dragan Rakocevic, said in a statement. The Adriatic state last month asked the court to consider bankruptcy for the smelter, which is co-owned by the state and the Central European Aluminium Company of Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska. KAP employs 1,200 people and accounted for 4.7 percent of Montenegro's economic output last year, but is nursing a total debt of some 350 million euros. ($1 = 0.7792 euros)
Bob Wilt’s first job at Alcoa Inc. (AA) was in 1999 at a plant in the Tennessee town named after the company. In 2012, as head of the aluminum producer’s U.S. smelters, he oversaw the plant’s demolition. As the new president of Alcoa’s global primary products business, the Gulf War veteran will now likely need to cut more production capacity after competition from China and a 15 percent slump in aluminum prices made the New York-based company the worst-performing stock in the Dow Jones Industrial Average this year. Alcoa, which had its credit rating cut to junk by Moody’s Investors Service in May, will report after today’s close that its earnings were unchanged from a year ago, according to analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. “You look back fondly on the experiences you had, but at...
Shanghai-based Baosteel has given hints in its latest six-year plan (spanning 2013 to 2018) that it intends to enter the aluminium industry, possibly in some kind of joint venture with Chinalco and with a view to making parts for the automotive industry. According to a report in the latest edition of China Metals, the words ‘aluminium’ and ‘going global’ are key words for the Chinese steel producer, which claims that in times of low profitability within the steel industry, it is necessary for the company to seek co-operative arrangements on the production of automotive products. The company says that ‘going global’ is crucial and that it aims to sell most of its products in overseas markets by 2018. What percentage of that will be aluminium is not known.
With low aluminium prices causing no end of despair on the global market, there appears to be no let-up on primary production in China with new capacity coming on stream and May’s production of 1.77Mt pointing to an annualised rate of 20.8Mt. From January to May, China produced 8.73Mt of primary metal, up 8.25% on the same period last year, with Xinjiang’s five-month production up a staggering 185%, followed, not even closely, by Guangxi with 40%, Shaanxi (34%) and Guizhou (32.62%). Chinese exports of primary aluminium for the period were 45.8Mt (a decline of 11.6%) while imports year-on-year declined by nearly 70% to 81kt. May’s primary metal imports increased by 55.5% to 21.8kt. Over the five-month period, semis production reached 14.6Mt, up 23.5% year-on-year compared with 14.6% growth...
The London Metal Exchange appointed Andrew Caplan, head of Glencore Xstrata Plc’s aluminum division, to its aluminum committee, according to the bourse’s website. Sam Hainsworth of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) also was named to the panel, which is scheduled to hold its next meeting Oct. 9. The LME committees comprise producers, consumers and traders of the industrial metals bought and sold on the exchange. The aluminum committee has 12 members including United Co. Rusal, Alcoa Inc. and Trafigura Beheer BV.
The Middle East’s aluminium industry is in an advantageous position, and can play a key role in industry consolidation and the development of new globally active players, shows a new report by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The Middle East’s strategic position is supported by the recent $15 billion merger of Dubai Aluminium (Dubal) and Emirates Aluminium (Emal) to create Emirates Global Aluminium, the world’s fifth-largest aluminium producer. The GCC aluminium market’s cost advantage is supported by its proximity to Europe, Asia and Africa and growing aluminium demand from the construction, packaging, transportation and industrial sectors. We are seeing local players make strategic movements both upstream and downstream as they build viable value chains and further aluminium-driven...
