Rusal announces Q1 results

(Posted on 28/04/20)

RUSAL, a leading global aluminium producer, has announced its operating results for the first quarter 2020

Commenting on the first quarter 2020 results, Evgenii Nikitin, CEO of RUSAL, said:

“Today we all live in a new paradigm, where we face a new challenging and unpredictable situation. The impact that these challenges, caused by the pandemic, will have on the economy is yet to be evaluated, but it will certainly affect all industries, including the aluminium market. It is not too early to predict that the spread of the coronavirus could considerably decrease the aluminium demand and deteriorate business conditions across all regions.

Despite the economic turbulence during the first three months of the year, RUSAL is demonstrating a robust performance thanks to a highly skilled and flexible management team. RUSAL’s total aluminium sales in the first quarter of 2020 decreased by 17.4% compared to the fourth quarter 2019, but this was due to the high base effect, after high level of sales during the last three months of the past year. However, sales increased by 2.0%, compared to the same period the previous year. Also, the total sales mix has value added products’ share of 46%, almost reaching the level registered in 2017, before the OFAC Sanctions.

RUSAL’s economic model has proven to be efficient and agile during periods of market volatility. One of the lowest production costs per tonne across the industry serves us well during the current unpredictable market conditions. Furthermore, RUSAL has not had to suspend or halt production due to its ability to continue operations whilst ensuring the safety of our employees. We were one of the first companies to introduce heightened health and safety measures to protect our employees from coronavirus.

Our business as usual approach allows us to focus on the obligations we have to our customers without jeopardizing the health and safety of our employees. We are so pleased we can continue to support our customers in such difficult times”.