Rusal’s 2024 operational and financial performances neither touched by bans nor by surging alumina prices

Russian aluminium boycott by Western countries, drop in product sales, particularly primary aluminium and alloys, and increased alumina costs – nothing could stop Rusal from experiencing a growth in profit in 2024. According to the company’s annual financial and operational results released on Friday, March 14, Rusal’s net profit in 2024 saw a leap of 184.75 per cent Y-o-Y from USD 282 million to USD 803 million, driven by higher prices of aluminium in the global market. The company’s gross profit stood at USD 2,821 million, up by 59.56 per cent from USD 1,768 million.

Rusal’s aluminium and alumina production also successfully navigated high alumina costs, recording year-on-year growth of 3.7 per cent and 25.27 per cent. In 2024, the company produced 3.992 million tonnes of aluminium, contributing 5.9 per cent to global output, up from 3.85 million tonnes in 2023. Alumina production was 6.43 million tonnes, compared to 5.133 million tonnes the previous year.

Even though Rusal decided to cut 250,000 tonnes of its annual aluminium production at the end of the year due to inflated alumina prices, it managed to sustain steady growth throughout 2024. In November 2024, alumina price surge prompted Rusal to cut 6 per cent of its output. Slow economic progress dampening domestic demand for aluminium was also why Rusal took such a bold decision. Rusal announced that it would reduce its production by 250,000 tonnes annually due to the global alumina price rally buoyed by output suspensions in Australia, the world’s second-largest alumina producer, upon bauxite supply disruptions from Guinea and Brazil, without naming the smelter that would witness the reduction. Ultimately, Rusal withstood all these challenges and generated nearly 200 per cent profit in 2024.

However, due to market access limitations, especially in Western countries, due to undeclared sanctions on Russia, Rusal’s product sales decreased from USD 11,929 million to USD 11,819 million over the year. Among all the products, sales of primary aluminium and alloys decreased by 3.98 per cent to USD 9,726 million, resulting in a drop in Rusal’s overall sales value. Bauxite & alumina and aluminium product sales amounted to USD 2,093 million versus USD 1,800 million in 2023.