Atlanta’s rolled aluminium firm Novelis Inc. reported results for the third quarter and first nine months of the 2023 fiscal year this week. Results were down for the quarter due in large part to lower shipment totals and lower demand in the beverage packaging segment.
In the third quarter of the 2023 fiscal year Novelis showed US$4,201 million in net sales, down slightly on the year from last year’s third quarter net sales of US$4,326 million. Net income for the quarter came to US$12 million, down on the year from US$262 million last year. EBITDA for the quarter came to US$208 million, off from last year’s third quarter EBITDA of US$540 million. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter figured at US$341 million, also down on the year by 33 percent from last year’s total of US$506 million.
Shipments for the third quarter totaled 908 thousand metric tons, off by 2 percent on the year.
For the first nine months of the fiscal year Novelis returned net sales of US$14,089 million, up from the prior year’s first nine months net sales of US$12,300 million. Net income in the first nine months came to US$501 million, down from last year’s total of US$739 million. EBITDA for the first nine months totaled US$1,236 million, off from last year’s EBITDA of US$1,587 million, while adjusted EBITDA for the first nine months fell from US$1,614 million last year to US$1,408 million.
Steve Fisher, President and CEO, Novelis Inc., said in a press release that the results were off as expected, but the market’s fundamentals remain strong.
“As expected, our results were pressured by continued unprecedented inflationary headwinds, but were also further impacted by lower shipments resulting from significantly larger than anticipated customer inventory reduction actions in the beverage packaging market. We will continue to address these short-term challenges while remaining focused on building for our future in a prudent manner. Importantly, we believe the underlying demand fundamentals driven by increasing consumer preferences for lightweight, sustainable aluminum solutions in all our key end markets remains unchanged.”
Dev Ahuja, Executive Vice President and CFO, Novelis Inc., said that the firm is positioned to take advantage of the market on the coming upswing.
“We are navigating a challenging period of intensified inflationary headwinds, and continuing to implement cost control measures and work with our customers to share these extraordinary inflation impacts. We see some of these inflated costs gradually settling down, however, we are applying a disciplined approach to capital expenditures and working capital that will allow us to maintain a strong balance sheet through these near-term headwinds while strategically investing in projects to drive future growth.”
Novelis is a subsidiary of Mumbai’s Hindalco Industries Ltd. Based in Atlanta, the firm accounts for almost half of Hindalco’s consolidated revenue. The world’s largest recycler of aluminium, Novelis conducts operations in ten different countries, employs around eleven thousand people, and reported US$17.1 billion in net sales for the most recent fiscal year.