Aluminum Corp of China Ltd (Chalco) (601600.SS: Quote) (2600.HK: Quote), the country's top aluminium maker, posted a 47 percent drop in first-quarter net profit, as rising expenses, higher prices for electricity and raw materials offset a rise in aluminum prices.
The company made a net profit of 333.17 million yuan in January through March compared with 627.25 million a year earlier, it said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange late on Thursday
Net profit missed a forecast of 425 million yuan from BNP Paribas, one of the few brokers to provide a forecast.
Chalco's Hong Kong-listed shares ended up 2.2 percent before the results were announced. They are up 7 percent so far this year, outperforming the broader Hang Seng Index .HSI, up 5 percent in the same period.
China has urged central and provincial authorities to stop approving the construction of new aluminium smelting capacity, which is expected to underpin aluminium prices in the long run. LME aluminium CMAL3 prices rose 6 percent rise in the first quarter.
However, Beijing is likely to further tighten credit in its fight against an acceleration in inflation, which might hit demand for the light metal in the world's biggest consumer nation.
Beijing is considering its first electricity price increase since 2009, which could start in April and curtail aluminium output as Chinese producers find profit margins squeezed.
豫公网安备41010502003434号