Emirates Global Aluminium, the UAE’s biggest industrial company outside the oil and gas sector, delivered a strong 2020 performance despite one of the most challenging years for the industry due to Covid-19 disruptions.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) climbed to Dh4.1 billion ($1.13bn) at the end of last year, a 63 per cent rise from 2019, it said in a statement on Tuesday.
A strong ramp up of EGA’s alumina refinery and bauxite mine in Guinea, West Africa, cost controls and lower global prices for raw materials helped to improve the company's earnings.
"I personally believe this is the most challenging year for the industry in decades. Covid-19 and measures to control it led to [the] slowdown and even shutdown of manufacturing plants around the globe during the first half of the year. For the aluminium market, the effect was significant," Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, chief executive of EGA, told The National.
"Despite [the] challenging environment, EGA did remarkably well ... our financial performance improved significantly."
A ramp-up in new upstream projects and a more positive sentiment for the global aluminium market carried over to this year means "we have a very strong outlook for 2021", he said.
"The recovery of the global aluminium market that began in the second half of 2020 has continued into 2021," he said. "We expect benchmark aluminium prices to remain around $2,000 for 2021 as a whole."
Aluminium prices slumped to about $1,400 per tonne in April last year from a previous peak of over $2,500 per tonne. They are currently hovering at the $2,200 per tonne level.
Lower prices last year meant EGA's revenue took a hit, declining by 9 per cent to Dh18.7bn and demand for value-added products fell. The firm's smelting margin rose, however, to 23 per cent in 2020, from 14 per cent a year earlier.
EGA, which is jointly owned by Abu Dhabi’s strategic investment arm, Mubadala Investment Company, and the Investment Corporation of Dubai, said its cash flow from operating activities improved by 35 per cent to Dh5.5bn.
The company, which has more than 400 long-term customers in 50 countries, sold 2.52 million tonnes of cast metal, down slightly from 2.6 million tonnes in 2019.
Despite pandemic-driven headwinds, value-added or "premium aluminium" products accounted for 72 per cent of total sales.
"If you factor [in] that EGA is not integrated [into] downstream [products] unlike many other players, this is actually an outstanding performance, and a testament to the strength of our relationship with our customers," EGA's chief financial officer Zouhir Regragui said.
It sold 252,000 tonnes of products to UAE customers, accounting for about 10 per cent of total sales. EGA's Al Taweelah alumina refinery produced 1.92 million tonnes of alumina, close to its capacity of 2 million tonnes.
Guinea Alumina Corporation, which operates the company's bauxite mine, exported 9.56 million tonnes of bauxite ore, making EGA the second-largest third-party seller of bauxite in the world in its first full production year.
Mr Bin Kalban said that EGA has yet to hear anything regarding the re-instatement of a 10 per cent tariff by the Biden administration on aluminium imports from the UAE. The administration said in February that it intended to re-instate the tariff that former president Donald Trump removed just before leaving office in January.
"It is a government-to-government issue," he said.
EGA made its position clear even before tariffs were imposed that "our aluminium is an important part of the US primary aluminium supply", Mr Bin Kalban said.
"We support 5,600 direct jobs in the US and 25,000 indirect jobs."
The figures behind the event
1) More than 300 in-house cleaning crew
2) 165 staff assigned to sanitise public areas throughout the show
3) 1,000 social distancing stickers
4) 809 hand sanitiser dispensers placed throughout the venue
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
The Cairo Statement
1: Commit to countering all types of terrorism and extremism in all their manifestations
2: Denounce violence and the rhetoric of hatred
3: Adhere to the full compliance with the Riyadh accord of 2014 and the subsequent meeting and executive procedures approved in 2014 by the GCC
4: Comply with all recommendations of the Summit between the US and Muslim countries held in May 2017 in Saudi Arabia.
5: Refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of countries and of supporting rogue entities.
6: Carry out the responsibility of all the countries with the international community to counter all manifestations of extremism and terrorism that threaten international peace and security
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
How much of your income do you need to save?
The more you save, the sooner you can retire. Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.com, says if you save just 5 per cent of your salary, you can expect to work for another 66 years before you are able to retire without too large a drop in income.
In other words, you will not save enough to retire comfortably. If you save 15 per cent, you can forward to another 43 working years. Up that to 40 per cent of your income, and your remaining working life drops to just 22 years. (see table)
Obviously, this is only a rough guide. How much you save will depend on variables, not least your salary and how much you already have in your pension pot. But it shows what you need to do to achieve financial independence.
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
HEADLINE HERE
- I would recommend writing out the text in the body
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Tips for job-seekers
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David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
