Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) released results for the second quarter and first half of 2022 last week. Numbers were generally up for the year’s first half thanks in part to an increase in value added aluminium products.
In the second quarter, Alba recorded a profit of BD181.9 million (US$483.9 million), better by 97 percent on the year from last year’s second-quarter profit of BD92.6 million (US$246.2 million). Gross profit for the quarter came in at BD208 million (US$553.2 million) besting last year’s second quarter number of BD123.7 million (US$328.9 million). Total revenue for the quarter came to BD520.4 million (US$1,384 million), an increase of 41 percent over last year’s number of BD370 million (US$984 million).
For the year’s first half Alba recorded a profit of BD328.7 million (US$874.3 million), an increase of 127% over last year’s first half profit of BD144.8 million (US$385.1 million). Gross profit was up by 89 percent on the year at BD386 million (US$1,026.7 million) compared to last year’s first half gross profit of BD204.2 million (US$543.0 million). Revenue in the half was BD975.3 million (US$2,593.9 million), up by 45 percent from last year’s total of BD672.7 million (US$1,789 million).
Chairman of Alba’s Board of Directors, Shaikh Daij Bin Salman Bin Daij Al Khalifa elaborated on the second quarter and first half results in a press release.
“We have had an unmatched financial performance as we set new benchmarks in the last 3 quarters (Q4 2021, Q1 and Q2 2022) and on many fronts:
– Profit of BD328.7 million (US$874.3 million) in H1 2022 – up by 127% YoY
– Value Added Sales top 70% in Q2 2022 – a first time in our history (67% in H1 2022)
– Safety: a new leap was achieved with more than 29 million safe working hours without LTI
“This strong performance has enabled us to distribute an interim dividend of US$120 million to our shareholders. As we progress into the rest of 2022, we remain committed to build sustainable returns while also delivering further value to our shareholders.”
Alba’s Chief Executive Officer, Ali Al Baqali said that value added products helped to boost numbers so far this year.
“Our exhibit profitability was backed by improved product mix towards Value Added Products’ Sales and sound cost savings. Despite the logistics’ challenges in the market, we have been able to deliver another strong quarter by capitalising on higher LME price and that has allowed us to service our loans and reduce our overall debt profile.”
“We are only as good as our employees; it is thanks to our collective proactiveness in Safety, we have reached a record landmark with topping more than 29 million safe working hours without LTI,” he concluded.
Alba is one of the largest industrial companies in the Middle East and is the world’s biggest aluminium smelter outside the People’s Republic of China. Originally incorporated in 1968, the company is based in Bahrain and 84% of its total workforce are Bahraini nationals. It began operations in 1971 with a 120,000 metric ton annual capacity. Modernization bumped the output up to 450,000 metric tons in 1992. In the spring of 2005, Alba opened Line 5, raising output by 860,000 metric tons per year. In 2020 Alba’s smelter produced 1,548,500 metric tons of primary aluminium.