Aluminium Baharain (Alba), the Bahrain-based aluminium smelter, has reported a net income of BD33.9 million ($90 million) for the first quarter (Q1) of 2018, compared to BD25.6 million ($68 million) in Q1 2017, an increase of 32 per cent year-on-year (YoY).

Alba’s top-line and bottom-line performance for the first quarter of 2018 were driven primarily by 17 per cent YoY increase in London Metal Exchange (LME) prices coupled with favourable management performance, said a statement.

The company’s total sales stretched by 16 per cent YoY to reach BD221.3 million ($588 million) compared to BD190.4 million ($506 million) in Q1 2017, it said.

During the Annual General Meeting (AGM) which was held on March 7, Alba approved a dividend of BD36.8 million ($98 million) and paid on March 21.

Shaikh Daij Bin Salman Bin Daij Al Khalifa, chairman of Alba’s board of directors, said: “Our company was off to a strong start in 2018 thanks to a solid operational performance.”

Al Baqali: confident

“We intend to leverage this strong start as we progress with the construction of Line 6 Expansion Project,” he said.

“We also look forward to fully secure the second tranche of ECA-covered facility,” he added.

Tim Murray, Alba’s chief executive officer, added: “We continue to focus on resilience and were able to leverage the gains in LME prices to deliver solid bottom-line results.”

“I would like to thank our dedicated workforce for their contributions in achieving this success,” he added.

Earlier, the company said it has successfully completed the hiring process for its Line 6 Expansion Project.

In line with the kingdom’s 2030 Economic Vision, the Line 6 Expansion Project has created around 500 permanent direct jobs in Alba and will boost the downstream cluster by creating indirectly a few thousand job opportunities, said a statement from the company.

One of the biggest brownfield expansions in the region, the Line 6 Expansion Project brings Alba’s total production capacity to 1.5 million metric tonnes per year making it the world’s largest single-site aluminium smelter.

Alba said the new recruits have started to join the company with the last batch expected in June.

“We are pleased to have successfully completed the hiring process for Line 6 Expansion Project, which will accelerate the various works associated with the pouring of the First Hot Metal on January 1, 2019,” remarked Alba’s Deputy CEO Ali Al Baqali.

“Through this landmark project, we have had the opportunity to further our commitment by bringing jobs to the people of Bahrain,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Murray was honoured with the Top CEO Awards 2018 at an event held recently in Saudi Arabia.

The Top CEO Conference and Awards, organised by Trends magazine and leading international business school Insead, celebrates the region’s best-performing CEOs from companies that are listed on the stock exchanges of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman.

Murray won top recognition at the event held at King Abdullah Economic City under the theme “Paradigm Shift.”