Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has posted adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation (adjusted EBITDA) of record AED7.6 billion ($2.1 billion) in the first half (H1) of 2022, compared to AED3.5 billion in H1 2021.

The company reported a net profit of AED5.9 billion ($1.6 billion), compared to AED1.7 billion ($473 million) in H1 2021. EGA’s first half 2022 net profit exceeded net profit for the entirety of 2021 (AED5.5 billion, $1.5 billion) itself a record year for the company.

Revenue during the first-half was AED18.3 billion ($5 billion) compared to AED10.8 billion ($2.9 billion) in H1 2021.

Aluminium segment EBITDA margin reached 41 per cent, compared to 32 per cent in H1 2021, leading major global peers.

After the end of the first half of 2022, EGA made an AED2.9 billion ($800 million) corporate debt pre-payment, continuing deleveraging to strengthen the company’s balance sheet for EGA’s future corporate journey.

After the end of the half, EGA paid an interim dividend of AED2.2 billion ($600 million) to shareholders.

Sales of cast metal increased by 11 per cent to 1.31 million tonnes, compared 1.18 million tonnes in the first half of 2021, as EGA implemented production creep plans and mitigation measures for global logistics challenges. EGA supplied more than 400 customers with metal in over 50 countries.

Sales of value-added products or ‘premium aluminium’ increased five per cent to 1.07 million tonnes from 1.02 million tonnes in H1 2021. ‘Premium aluminium’ accounted for 82 per cent of total metal sales, compared to 86 per cent in H1 2021, with the company focusing on optimising EBITDA contribution from sales amid high volatility of alloy metal prices.

Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of EGA, said: “After our record performance in 2021, I noted that EGA could still do better and indeed we improved our operational performance throughout the value chain from mining to outbound logistics for finished metal. This enabled us to capitalise on strong market conditions. Our net profit for the first half exceeded net profit for the entirety of last year.

“During the first half we worked to debottleneck our operations, optimise our customer and product mix to maximise our revenue, robustly control our costs, and set the course for future growth. We will continue to focus on delivering competitive returns for our sector, however the global aluminium market develops.”

Zouhir Regragui, Chief Financial Officer of EGA, said: “Our success meant we were highly cash-generative in strong market conditions, enabling us to deliver exceptional returns to our shareholders with an interim dividend of $600 million and continue to strengthen our balance sheet for the next stage in our corporate journey.  

“Aluminium demand is closely correlated to the health of the global economy. The economic outlook for the remainder of the year is uncertain but market conditions are likely to be less favourable than in the first half. We will maintain our focus on what we control – operational excellence, maximising the value of our production through our marketing strategy, controlling our overheads, and closely managing our working capital - to continue to deliver excellent returns compared to our sector.” – TradeArabia News Service