Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) has reported a 3.1 per cent increase in output in Q1 and a slight increase in sales on the back of strong operational performance.

Figures released by the company showed production for the quarter was 238,904 tonnes compared with 231,713 tonnes for the year-ago period while sales reached 232,193 tonnes from 229,810 tonnes for an increase of 2,383 tonnes.

The company was able to increase its value-added sales to 66 per cent versus an average of 65 per cent in the second quarter of last year.

Alba’s chief executive Tim Murray commented: “Despite challenging market conditions and the dramatic drop in worldwide phys-ical premiums, Alba continues to exceed its performance targets.”

The Line 6 Expansion Project, expected to begin production by early 2019, will boost annual output capacity by 514,000 tonnes, tak-ing total capability to around 1.450 million tonnes.

Bechtel Canada completed the Bankable Feasibility study for the $3.5 billion project. DX+ Technology has been selected as the base for Line 6, while JP Morgan, Gulf International Bank and National Bank of Bahrain are the financial advisors.

“Line 6 will enhance the downstream industry by creating many co-investment opportunities through local and foreign aluminium investments. It will create hundreds of jobs, directly and indirectly, which will be a significant economic boost for Bahrain,” Alba said in a statement.

Alba is strengthening its ties with the Asian market which represented approximately 13 per cent of its total sales in 2014. A step in that direction was visits that senior executives including Murray made to key customers in the Asia-Pacific region. Accompanying him were acting chief marketing officer Khalid A Latif, sales manager of Asia and Pacific Yogesh Kumar and sales officer of the Hong Kong office Enoch Kwok.

The visit aimed to improve customer satisfaction, give more insights on the Line 6 expansion and expand Alba’s customer base across Asia, the statement said.

In addition, Alba took part in Aluminium China 2015 in the first fortnight of last month at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre. Held every year, this conference is considered as one of Asia’s top trading, sourcing and networking platforms for the full aluminium industry chain.

“Alba is keen to enhance its presence in the global aluminium market, and one of the key regions is Asia and Pacific. Our participa-tion in Aluminium China 2015 represents an ideal platform to network with our existing partners and forge business relationships with potential ones,” remarked Murray.

“We are also pleased to meet with some of our key clients in the region – such meetings provide us not only with hands-on experi-ence to better understand our customers’ requirements but also the opportunity to strengthen our ties with them.”