Hulamin Cuts Aluminum Processing, Halts New Hires on Sales Drop

Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Hulamin Ltd., Africa’s largest aluminum processor, reduced output and halted new staff hires as a global recession cut sales. “The company expects lower sales volumes for 2009, particularly during the first quarter,” the Pietermaritzburg, South Africa-based company said in a statement to the Johannesburg stock exchange today. “Recruitment has been frozen and contract positions have largely been eliminated.” Hulamin said it’s responding to a “sharp” decline in demand as customers in the automotive, transport and building industries pare inventories. It’s cutting overtime and reducing manufacturing to a five-day week. Those measures and a weaker rand-exchange rate will help to “underpin” future earnings, the company added. Full-year net income rose more than sixfold after tax charges fell and year-earlier costs associated with the sale of a stake to black investors weren’t repeated, Hulamin also said today. Profit climbed to 268 million rand ($28 million), or 1.23 rand a share, in 2008, from 40.8 million rand, or 19 cents, a year earlier. Sales advanced 8 percent to 7.12 billion rand.