OREANDA-NEWS.  Alba Reports 3rd Quarter 2015 Results.

Q3 2015 Industry Highlights

 World consumption up by 5% year-on-year (YoY) while world production up by 7% YoY. Asian demand rose by 7% YoY supported by the Chinese consumption (9% YoY). MENA demand remains strong (6% YoY) driven by infrastructure spending in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Prospects for the demand in North America continues to be good (3% YoY) due to the growth in the transport and construction sectors. Europe consumption remains stable (1% YoY) and is mainly denominated by the transport sector.
 LME inventories at 3.1 million metric tonnes in September
 World market in surplus with China (+41 Kt) and in deficit without China (-301 Kt)
 Regional physical premiums continue to plunge across the world
 The LME cash average was at US$ 1,590 metric tonnes (mt) with LME ranging between US$1,486/t on August 24 (lowest since July 2009) and US$1,693/t on July 2

Q3 2015 Alba Highlights

 Alba wins the 2015 RoSPA Gold Award for Occupational Health and Safety
 Alba was able to increase its sales (metric tonnes) by 2.5% YoY while production was up by 2.9% YoY on the back of strong operational performance
 Sales of Value-Added products averaged 64% of total shipments in Q3 2015 versus 66% in Q3 2014

Q3 & 9 Months 2015 Financial Results

Alba’s total sales for the third quarter of 2015 were BD 184.4 million (US$ 490 million) versus BD 223.2 million (US$ 593 million) for the same period in 2014, a drop of 17% YoY due to lower LME prices. For the nine months of 2015, total sales totalled BD 590.3 million (US$ 1.57 billion), a decrease of around 2% YoY versus BD 599.6 million (US$ 1.60 billion) for the same period of 2014.

Net Income for the third quarter of 2015 dropped by 70% YoY to BD 8.7 million (US$ 23 million) versus BD 29.5 million (US$ 78 million) for the same period in 2014 due to lower LME prices. The company posted a Net Income of BD 75.7 million (US$ 201 million) for the nine months of 2015 versus BD 61.9 million (US$ 164 million), up by 22% YoY on the back of higher LME prices and physical premiums during the first six months of 2015.

The Board recommended an interim cash dividend of 5.5 Fils per share, which is BD 7.77 million (US$ 21 million) paid on September 1, 2015 to eligible shareholders.

Q3 2015 Alba Priorities

 Continuous Focus on Safety, Training & Development Initiatives 3
 Deliver on Project Titan target
 Sustained Focus on Value-Added Sales
 Increase creep-up capacity with minimal capital investment
 Line 6 Expansion Project

Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) announced the release of its third quarter of 2015 results on Wednesday, November 11, 2015.

Commenting on Q3 results, the Chairman of Alba’s Board of Directors, Sh. Daij Bin Salman Bin Daij Al Khalifa said: “In light of low LME prices, the company will continue to push the limit on its operational performance all the while by remaining cost competitive.”

Alba’s Chief Executive, Tim Murray added: “Despite the collapse of all-in-aluminium prices, Alba has been able to maintain its strong intrinsic performance in a challenging market.”

Alba's Executive Management will be holding a conference call on Wednesday November 11, 2015 to discuss Alba's performance for the third quarter of 2015 as well as outline the company's priorities for the remainder of this year.

About Alba:

Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) - one of the largest and modern aluminium smelters in the world - is renowned for its premium grade aluminium products, technological strength and innovative policies, strict environmental guidelines and high track record for safety. Established in 1971 as a 120,000 tonnes per annum smelter, Alba today produces more than 931,000 metric tonnes per annum of the highest grade aluminium, with products including standard and T-ingots, extrusion billets, rolling slab, properzi ingots, and molten aluminium. 4 Alba is listed on both the Bahrain Bourse and London Stock Exchange, and the Company’s shareholders are Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company (69.38%), SABIC Industrial Investment Company (20.62%) and the General Public (10%).

About Line 6 Expansion Project:

Line 6 Expansion Project, expected to begin production by early 2019, will boost the per-annum production by 514,000 metric tonnes, bringing the total production capacity of Alba to around 1.450 million metric tonnes per year. Bechtel Canada completed the Bankable Feasibility study for the $3.5 billion Line 6 Expansion Project in December 2014. DX+ Technology is selected as the base for Line 6, while J.P. Morgan, Gulf International Bank (GIB) and National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) are the Financial Advisors of the Project. The Line 6 Expansion Project will enhance the downstream industry by creating many co-investment opportunities through local and foreign aluminium investments. It will create hundreds of jobs, directly and indirectly, which will be a significant economic boost for the Kingdom of Bahrain.