By Hadeel Al Sayegh
DUBAI (Reuters) – Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) on Wednesday reported a 23.5% decline in annual net profit for 2024 due to an impairment charge following the suspension of exports from its operations in Guinea and the introduction of a corporate tax in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The UAE-based supplier of mined ore said profits for last year was 2.6 billion dirhams ($707.95 million) in 2024, compared with 3.4 billion dirhams in 2023. The UAE introduced a corporate tax at 9% of profit from January 1, 2024.
The company also said that volatility in aluminium prices this year was expected to continue due to tensions in global trade. U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed 25% tariffs on all U.S. steel and aluminium imports, a key market for United Arab Emirates suppliers.
EGA is owned equally by Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala and Dubai sovereign wealth fund the Investment Corporation of Dubai.
EGA said in October bauxite exports from its subsidiary Guinea Alumina Corporation (GAC) were suspended by customs. Guinea is the world’s second-largest producer after Australia of bauxite, the raw material for aluminium.
The company said on Wednesday the suspension resulted in a decline from 14.1 million wet metric tonnes of bauxite exports in 2023 to 10.8 million wet metric tonnes in 2024. EGA took an impairment on the book value of GAC at the year-end of 1.8 billion dirhams.
“We continue to seek a resolution with the Government to resume bauxite mining and exports,” Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium said in the statement. “In the meantime, we have taken and will continue to take all steps necessary to secure our supplies of raw materials for our alumina refining and smelting operations.”
Adjusted core earnings stood at 9.2 billion dirhams, up from 7.7 billion dirhams in 2023, on higher realised all-in aluminium and bauxite prices and record production of alumina and aluminium, partly offset by higher alumina prices and lower bauxite production.
($1 = 3.6726 UAE dirham)
(Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
