ALRO contemplates to resume the electrolytic aluminium production in 2023, subject to the energy market stabilisation
Mon, 31/01/2022 - 11:03
Slatina, 31 January 2022– ALRO S.A. (BVB: ALR, “the Company” or “ALRO”), one of the largest vertically integrated aluminium producers in Europe, measured by production capacity, announces that the Company’s management is focusing on finding solutions to restore the electrolytic aluminium production at the 2021 level starting with 2023 subject to energy prices on the market.
“We are actively looking for solutions to secure the energy needs for 2023 for all our five potrooms and thus to preserve the vertical integration feature of our business, as we believe the integration will remain in the long run one of the main advantages of our business model”,said Marian NĂSTASE, Chairman of the Board of Directors, ALRO. “Based on our current estimations, the restarting costs for each electrolysis potroom may be in the range of USD 10-12 millions, depending on the raw material prices at that time and the period elapsed from the moment of placing them into conservation”,added Marian NĂSTASE.
In 2022, the Company is implementing its announced production plan to rescale the electrolytic aluminium production and work with two out of five electrolysis halls, while taking the necessary technological measures to allow a quick and efficient restart when the energy market conditions return to a sustainable level. Moreover, ALRO is also focusing on retaining its employees to the maximum extent posible by redistributing the Company’s workforce, in such way to allow it to restore the electrolytic metal production at the previous level in 2023 in a smooth and efficient manner.
To mitigate the impact on its turnover of the temporary production shut-down of the three electrolysis halls, currently ALRO buys cold primary metal from the market. In this way, the Company intends to maintain or even increase the processed products’ output, while for the less profitable primary aluminium products, the production will be adjusted. Thus, ALRO’s management estimates that its turnover for 2022 will be maintained at least at the 2021 levels, the adopted production plan being the best solution for the current market conditions.
For further information, please contact:
Florența Ghiță
Bucharest
Phone: +40 744 644 004
Email: investor.relations@alro.ro
Notes to the Editors:
ALRO Group
The companies part of ALRO Group are: ALRO S.A. – manufacturer of aluminium, Alum S.A. – producer of alumina, Sierra Mineral Holdings I, Ltd. – bauxite mining, Vimetco Extrusion S.R.L. – extrusion business line, Conef S.A. – holding and management company, Global Aluminium Ltd. – holding company and Bauxite Marketing Ltd – marketing, Vimetco Trading – aluminium sales. Having this structure, the Group created an integrated production chain assuring the raw materials for ALRO.
ALRO
ALRO is a subsidiary of Vimetco PLC (Republic of Cyprus), a global, vertically-integrated primary and processed aluminium producer. ALRO is one of the largest vertically integrated aluminium producers, by capacity, in Europe, having an installed production capacity of 265,000 tonnes per annum of electrolytic aluminium, 35,000 tonnes per annum of recycled aluminium and the Cast-House has a total cast aluminium capacity of 335,000 tonnes per annum and processing facilities of 130,000 tpa of hot and cold rolling facilities and extrusion shop.
The main market for ALRO products is represented by the European Union; the Company exports its products to the USA and Asia, as well. ALRO is ISO 9001 certified for quality management and has NADCAP and EN 9100 certificates for aerospace production organizations, ALRO’s products adhere to the quality standards for primary aluminium on the LME, as well as international standards for flat rolled products.
Starting from 18 March 2019, the Index Committee of the Bucharest Stock Exchange approved the inclusion of ALRO (code ALR) in BET, the main index of the market, and in BET-TR, the total return version of BET. ALRO’s shares have been listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange since October 1997 and ALRO represents the first company in the aluminium industry present in these two indices.
Since 2020, ALRO and Vimetco Extrusion are members of ASI (Aluminium Stewardship Initiative), an international association that contributes to enhancing sustainability in the global aluminium sector.