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Argentinian aluminium producer Aluar’s profits fell by 62% year-on-year for the fiscal quarter ending September 30, hit by lower metal prices and higher costs, the company said.
Profit attributable to shareholders totalled 163.2 million Argentinian pesos ($17 million) from July to September 2015, the first quarter of the company’s 2015/16 fiscal year.
This compares with 429.3 million pesos in the corresponding period of last year.
Aluar said the results were negatively affected by “the significant decrease in aluminium’s international price on the London Metal Exchange, as well as in premiums”.
The company also mentioned the “increase in costs due to the variation in prices of inputs and in workforce costs”.
Aluar’s net sales revenues totalled 2.47 billion pesos in the quarter, compared with 2.46 billion pesos a year earlier, the company said in its financial report.
Cost of sales and services provided increased to 1.86 billion pesos in the quarter, compared with 1.59 billion pesos in the corresponding months of 2014, Aluar said.
Besides producing primary aluminium and fabricated products, Aluar holds a majority stake in the Futaleufú hydroelectric plant and in engineering company Infa.
Production, sales Aluar’s primary aluminium production was 5% down in the quarter, year-on-year, to 100,948 tonnes.
As for aluminium products, its output was up by 19.4% year-on-year, to 5,961 tonnes in the quarter, the company said.
Aluar sold 102,624 tonnes of primary aluminium in the three months, up by 5.3% year-on-year.
Its sales to the domestic market rose by 34.9% year-on-year to 33,696 tonnes, but its exports of primary metal fell 4.9% by the same comparison, to 68,928 tonnes.
Sales of fabricated products increased to 5,964 tonnes in the quarter, compared with 5,424 tonnes a year earlier, Aluar said.
The volumes of aluminium products it sold in the domestic market rose by 13.9% year-on-year to 5,813 tonnes in the quarter.
By contrast, its exports of fabricated products fell by more than half by the same comparison, to 151 tonnes.
As for the next quarter, Aluar said expects demand from its various markets to remain around current levels.
Given the current scenario, the company expects to report a positive financial result in its second fiscal quarter, “although significantly lower than in the previous quarter”, it said.
Danielle Assalve danielle.assalve@metalbulletin.com Twitter: dassalve_mb