Leading Australian mining company Alumina Limited has posted a net profit after tax of USD 104 million in its 2022 full-year financial report.
The figure shows a significant dip from the company’s $187.6 million NPAT in 2021 after alumina prices quickly fell following the Australian government’s ban on alumina exports to Russia.
The company paid total dividends for the year of USD 0.42 per share.
According to Mike Ferraro, chief executive officer of Alumina, the whole industry saw higher input costs in the second half of 2022, along with persistently higher pricing for caustic soda.
In an ASX announcement, the company detailed that it reached an EBITDA of USD 817.1 million compared with USD 1,1462 million in the previous corresponding period.
The margin for alumina refineries stood at USD 67 per tonne, marking a stark drop from the previous period’s USD 85.
The company also reported a net cash inflow of USD 204 million for fiscal year 2022, representing a drop of more than half of the previous value, which was USD 488.1 million.
Ferraro said the company is looking forward to positive short and medium-term market fundamentals.
“The alumina market outside China is now in deficit and the outlook for this year is for the deficit to widen. API prices have already strengthened this year. More broadly, new refining capacity outside China is not keeping pace with smelting. The pace of refinery construction has slowed everywhere, while smelting re-starts and construction are continuing,” the CEO said.
“In the longer term, we remain confident that the demand for aluminium will continue to grow to support global decarbonisation, which will result in greater demand for alumina,” Ferraro said.
