ALUMINIUM Bahrain (Alba) reported lower sales revenues and a significantly reduced net income in Q1 compared to the same period in 2013 on the back of lower London Metal Exchange (LME) prices.

Alba’s sales for the first quarter of 2014 reached $464 million (BD174.5 million) compared to $498 million in Q1 2013, down by 15 per cent.  The company registered a net income of $46 million vs $108 million for the same period in 2013, down 57 per cent. The LME cash average was at $1,708 per tonne in Q1 2014 compared with $2,001 for the same period last year

In March 2014, Alba paid $82 million as the final dividend for 2013 bringing the total dividend for 2013 to $135 million. 

The chairman of Alba’s board of directors, Sheikh Daij Bin Salman Bin Daij Al Khalifa, said: “Alba continues to make money and maintain strong operational fundamentals despite the very difficult LME price environment. I would also like to thank all the employees of Alba for their continued efforts to improve safety.”

Sheikh Daij: operational fundamentals strong

Alba’s chief executive, Tim Murray, said: “Alba had strong operational performance despite a significant drop in LME prices. Alba was able to increase free cash flow for the quarter in the face of difficult market conditions.  For the remainder of 2014, Alba will focus on leveraging the strong physical premiums and accelerate our initiatives under Project Titan.” Project Titan is a two-year efficiency programme initiated with the objective of reducing cash costs by $150 per tonne by the end of January 2016.

Alba said it would continue to focus on safety and training initiatives, deliver on Project Titan, leverage physical premiums and complete its Line 6 Bankable Feasibility Study within the first half of this year.

SAFETY FOCUS

The company successfully completed three million work hours without Loss Time Injury (LTI).

“At Alba we believe change starts with belief and that is what we are seeing on safety.  The employees at Alba have taken the ownership of safety and this is driving productivity improvements throughout the plant.  As we head into the difficult summer months, we will be accelerating our activities to ensure we have a safe summer.”

The company’s commitment to broaden safety measures across the organisation was further strengthened with the engineering department’s first quarterly Contractor’s Safety Meeting, which was held recently at the Oasis Hall.

The quarterly coordination meetings by the department aim to encourage contracting companies to continue their cooperation towards safety compliance and boost Alba’s efforts towards achieving a zero-accident work environment.

The company’s commitment to safety was highlighted during a recent visit by Bahrain’s Electricity and Water Authority (EWA)’s Standard Operating Procedures Committee (SOPC) to Alba’s Power Department. The SOPC visited Alba to gain more insight on the safety and security procedures of the company and Bahrain’s high voltage electricity network.

ARABAL

Alba has announced  it will host the 18th International Arab Aluminium (Arabal) Conference in November. The  theme of the event, scheduled for November 25 to 27 at the Gulf Hotel, is  “GCC: An aluminium power house.”

Murray: focusing on strong physical premiums

Speaking on the occasion, the founder and chairman of Arabal, Mohammad Ali Al Naki said: “Arabal provides the perfect platform to highlight the on-going developments, challenges and future opportunities of the aluminium industry in the region … we are certain that Alba will uphold the values of Arabal and ensure the event is held to the highest standards.”

Adding further, Murray said: “Alba is proud to host Arabal 2014, which will put the spotlight on Bahrain and highlight the positive investment opportunities available across various sectors. As we move ahead, we will be soon announcing the launch of the Arabal website and further details of the conference.”

Arabal 2014 it is expected to attract more than 700 delegates to the kingdom of Bahrain including key decision makers and industry leaders from all sectors of the aluminium industry in the region and across the world.

HUMAN RESOURCES

The company announced the promotion of more than 600 employees across all levels in the plant. 

One of those promoted was Hamad Ebrahim AlShaibeh, who becomes the new human resources manager.

 AlShaibeh, a Bahraini national, joined Alba in 2002 as a trainee supervisor in the HR department and was assigned to various sections – organisation development, administration, recruitment and employee relations. In 2009, he was promoted to head of employee relations and Alba Housing Scheme and since the end of 2013 he had been serving as the acting manager for human resources.

Alba staff that attended the Paris MBA residency course (from left) Alshaibeh, Wahab, Jallabi, Hilal, Janahi, Abdulnabi and Gaffar

He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Arts from the Loyola University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, and a CIPD in Human Resources, and is currently pursuing his executive MBA from  ESSEC (École Supérieure des Sciences Économiques et Commerciales)  through the French Arabian Business School (FABS), Bahrain.

Chief executive Tim Murray said: “Hamad is a great example of Alba’s philosophy to promote from within the company.  Hamad has worked very hard and Alba provided him the opportunity for him to prove his capabilities.” 

Alba has nearly 3,000 employees, of which 87 per cent are Bahraini nationals.

The company is developing future leaders through its MBA sponsorship programme, which it said is a critical part of the company’s strategy. As part of this 18-month MBA programme, offered by the FABS, Bahrain, in partnership with the ESSEC, one of Europe’s leading business schools, the candidates attended a two-week Paris Residency Programme at the ESSEC.

Alba’s MBA candidates who attended the two-week Paris residency were Alshaibeh, the recently appointed manager, human resources; Fadhel Wahab, manager for warehouse and procurement; Nabeel Jallabi , manager for reduction lines 1-3; Eline Hilal, manager for investor relations; Abdul Rahman Janahi, acting administration director; Eskander Abdulnabi, senior superintendent operations P&U, power operation, and Ahmed M Gaffar, maintenance planning, Calciner & Marine.