Emirates Global Aluminium profit falls with metal prices

Amorn Suriyan/Shutterstock

• EGA profit down 54%
• Record production volumes
• Benchmark prices decline

Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the UAE’s largest non-oil industrial company and one of the world’s largest aluminium producers, reported a decline in net profit last year, despite posting record production volumes of alumina, cast and hot metal for 2023.

Net profit fell 54 percent year on year to AED3.4 billion ($937 million), against a backdrop of lower benchmark prices for aluminium.

EGA’s revenue also declined to $8 billion for 2023, from $9.4 billion in 2022.

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EGA produced 2.7 million tonnes of hot metal last year and 2.5 million tonnes of alumina. Sales of cast metal rose to 2.75 million tonnes from 2.72 million.

The company said that the average price for its metal on the London Metal Exchange was $2,264 per tonne, compared to $2,715 per tonne in 2022.

“Global aluminium prices were lower than in 2022, amid a less robust economy,” Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, chief executive of EGA said.

Kalban said that the long-term outlook for aluminium is positive, as metal is essential for developing a more sustainable society.

“Global aluminium demand is expected to grow significantly over the coming decades, particularly for low carbon and recycled metal,” he said.

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According to the World Economic Forum, global aluminium demand will increase by almost 40 percent by 2030.

Aluminium is used in many products, infrastructure and in electric vehicles. UAE’s exports reach more than 50 countries around the world.

Around 10 percent of EGA’s aluminium is sold in the UAE to 26 downstream aluminium companies.

Analysts predict a 2 percent rise in aluminium prices to $2,300 per tonne in 2024.

The EU is considering a ban on Russian metal as a further sanction as the war in Ukraine passed the two-year mark last month.

Analysts believe a ban would create a complex situation for aluminium suppliers. “It could lead to a rise in global aluminium prices in the short term,” said Vijay Valecha, Century Financial’s chief investment officer. “This would benefit EGA by increasing its profit margins.”

However, Vikas Lakhwani, CPT Markets’ chief revenue officer, said that in the long term Europe and the US may diversify their supply and explore sources such as India or Africa.