UC RUSAL announces Q4 and full year 2015 operating results

Leading, global aluminium producer UC RUSAL announced yesterday its fourth quarter and full year 2015 operating results. Aluminium production in Q4 2015 totalled 878 thousand tonnes, down 4.0 per cent Q-o-Q, remaining flat on the Y-o-Y basis. Q4 2015 aluminium sales totalled 876 thousand tonnes down 6.7 per cent Q-o-Q. RUSAL attributed the reduction in sales to a relatively high level of Q3 2015 sales on export and domestic markets and a marginal increase of inventories (goods in transit) in 4Q15 to be distributed 1Q16.

The share of Value Added Products (VAP) in the overall aluminium sales portfolio in the fourth quarter was 44 per cent.

Q4 2015 realised price decreased by 6.2 per cent Q-o-Q to USD1,729 per tonne reflecting the general downward trend of London Metal Exchange (“LME”) aluminium prices in the second half of 2015. Twelve months 2015 aluminium production at 3,603 thousand tonnes remained flat Y-o-Y.

Twelve months 2015 aluminium sales totalled 3,638 thousand tonnes, up 3.2 per cent Y-o-Y, with 43 per cent share of VAP in the sales portfolio. Average realised price in the period under review was at USD2,001 per tonne down 9.8 per cent Y-o-Y.

The company said, it does not have any plan to restart the aluminium smelters it idled in 2013 and is considering further aluminium production cuts totaling approximately 200 thousand tonnes per annum.