ALRO’s net sales mark a fall of 7.7% in Q3 2023 despite a rise in primary & processed aluminium production

On Monday, November 13, ALRO S.A., one of Europe's largest vertically integrated aluminium producers by production capacity, announced its third quarter and the consolidated nine-month results of 2023. The Group reported its net sales of RON 682.8 million for Q3, down by 7.70 per cent from RON 739.8 million during the corresponding period of the previous year.

The downward trend of the average 3-month LME aluminium price at US$2,200 per tonne in Q3 2023 compared to US$2,358 per tonne was responsible for the fall in net sales.  In nine months of 2023, ALRO's consolidated sales amounted to RON 2.24 billion, experiencing a fall of 20 per cent from RON 2.8 billion a year ago.

The demand for aluminium also demonstrated a weaker trend but was slightly offset by the Group's diversified products portfolio and registered higher sales volumes for extruded products, billets, slabs, and coils during Q1-Q3 2023.

ALRO's net result showed a net loss of RON 230 million in Q3 2023 compared to RON124.8 million a year ago. In nine months, the Group encountered a net loss of RON 394 million versus RON 109.5 million during the corresponding period of the previous year.

"The challenging international business environment continued to put even bigger pressure on our business, with aluminium quotations and demand slowing down. At local level, the utilities costs further burdened the overall budget", said Marian NĂSTASE, Chairman of the Board of Directors, ALRO. "However, the investments we made in diversifying our products portfolio and client base paid off and we were able to partially offset these set-backs thanks to higher quantitative sales in Q3 2023. Going forward, we are committed to our plan to secure de electricity supply and to further invest in state-of-the-art technology aimed at lowering consumptions and increasing products' quality and products' range."

However, ALRO's primary and processed aluminium production in Q3 2023 registered a hike year-on-year. Primary aluminium output in Q3 2023 stood at 49,775 tonnes compared to 35,700 tonnes in Q3 2022. But in nine months, ALRO's primary aluminium production stood 5.79 per cent lower year-on-year at 145,407 tonnes versus 154,338 tonnes.

Processed primary aluminium production in Q3 2023 was 23,605 tonnes, up by 56.86 per cent from 15,048 tonnes in Q3 2022. In nine months, the output reached 70,345 tonnes, down by 5.42 per cent from 74,376 tonnes a year earlier.