Russian aluminum giant Rusal on Thursday reported a 41.6% rise in adjusted first-half net profit as it boosted production of aluminum, alumina and other products and sent shipments to China to record levels.
Rusal, which operates in Guinea, Jamaica, Ireland and Sweden, in addition to Russia, has come under pressure due to the consequences of Western sanctions against Russia. Although there are no sanctions against the company, some Western consumers are avoiding new deals for Russian-made metal following Moscow's actions in Ukraine.
In April, the London Metal Exchange introduced a complete ban on supplies of Russian aluminum, copper and nickel from April 13 in accordance with with new sanctions from the US and UK.
However, Rusal's supplies to China reached record levels, and the Russian market reached the level that existed before the Ukrainian conflict, the aluminum giant reported.
In the first In the first half of 2024, 1.96 million tons of primary aluminum and about 3 million tons of alumina were produced, which is higher than the previous year. The price of aluminum rose to $2,360 per ton, and the price of alumina rose 14% to $402 per ton.
Rusal, which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and is the world's largest aluminum producer for outside China, reported adjusted net income of US$446 million for the six months ended June 30, compared with US$315 million a year earlier.
