UC Rusal, a leading aluminum producer, recently announced that its total aluminum production amounted to 3.6 million metric tons (mt) in FY2014, a 7% decline year-on-year, and 915,000 mt for the quarter, a 1% quarter-on-quarter. The company said its share of value-added products continued to grow and reached a record 45% of total aluminum production in 2014 in comparison with 42% for the previous year.
Rusal bauxite production amounted to 12.1 million mt in FY2014, a 2% year-on-year increase, and 2.9 million mt for the quarter, an 11% quarter-on-quarter decline. The company said it remains focused on further increases of an efficient upstream vertical integration.
The average aluminum realized price was $2,219/mt, a 3% year-on-year increase. While Rusal expects stable aluminum production volumes and favorable pricing environment in 2015, it does not plan to restart the aluminum smelters idled in 2013-2014 to maintain production discipline.
“This represents a marked turnaround in the aluminum market,” said Vladislav Soloviev, CEO of RUSAL. “Thanks to production cuts as well as a continued increase in demand, the 2014 ex-China market ended in deficit, supporting the LME price and also regional premiums. Throughout 2014, Rusal has maintained its disciplined approach to production and focus on highly marginal value-added aluminum products, which we intend to replicate in 2015. Looking forward, we estimate that an increased usage of aluminum across a wide range of sectors will mean that demand for the metal will grow by 6.5% in 2015, while the ex-China market deficit will remain significant.”
