Romanian aluminium company Alro SA (Alro Slatina) released first-quarter financials earlier this week, logging a jump in net profit of over one third from 2017.
According to commentary by domestic media, Alro witnessed a 39-percent rise in net profit year-on-year to RON125 million (US$31.8 million). Sales also rose in the quarter, showing a 10-percent bump up to RON749 million (US$190.8 million), which Alro credits in large part to a 16-percent rise in aluminium prices at the LME in the course of the first quarter.
Alro also reported investing €8.8 million (US$10.4 million) in improvements to technology and processes that the firm anticipates will boost efficiency.
Marian Năstase, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Alro, hailed the first quarter’s results as the product of the firm’s continued efforts at improving its bottom line.
“In the first quarter of 2018 we continued to implement our strong investment program aimed at improving the output and products’ quality, while reducing the overall consumption rates.”
Alro was founded in 1963 and is based in Slatina, Romania. The firm, a subsidiary of Vimetco N.V., is managed by Russian investor Vitaliy Machitski and has an installed capacity of 265,000 metric tons per year, making it one of the largest producers in Central and Eastern Europe outside of Russia and Scandinavia.
Over 80 percent of Alro’s production is sold internationally, both throughout the European Union and in the United States. The firm has a market capitalization of roughly US$420 million and has been listed on the Bucharest stock exchange for two decades.