Alumina returns to profit, says demand to grow

SYDNEY （MarketWatch） -- The world's largest seller of alumina roared back to profit in 2010, with Alumina Ltd. （AWC.AU） turning 2009's US$26 million loss into a US$35 million net profit as the commodity started to loosen its tether to the price of aluminum.

Chief Executive John Bevan said the market for the commodity is set to grow 12% over the coming year. "The global alumina market is entering a growth phase due in part to the rising demand for alumina from independent, non-integrated smelters, including many in China," he said.

Sale prices for the company's alumina rose 28% on the previous year, but a stronger Australian dollar cut into profits, the company said.

Australia accounts for 60% of global production from the Alcoa World Alumina & Chemicals joint venture, majority-owned by U.S.-based Alcoa Inc. （AA） and in which Alumina has a 40% stake.

In the year to Dec. 31, the joint venture produced 15.2 million tons of alumina, with quarterly production in the fourth quarter hitting a record.

The company paid a final dividend of 4 U.S. cents per share, with a total for the year of 6 cents including the company's half-year dividend, compared to 1.8 cents in 2009.

Alumina Ltd. received US$234 million in dividends from AWAC over the course of the year.

Alumina is a chemically refined commodity produced from bauxite ore, which is then further refined in smelters to produce aluminum metal. The commodity has traditionally been priced at around 12%-15% of benchmark aluminum prices, but at half-year results last year Bevan said the company had started moving its contracts to independent pricing.

The move, which would see alumina priced off a markets-based index instead, should be complete once all long-term contracts had been revised around 2015.

Similar pricing changes have seen booming prices for iron ore and coking coal over the past year, as the commodities have responded more closely to fluctuations in supply and demand.

The price of aluminum has also been on the rise over the past year following its trough in the wake of the global financial crisis, with three-month futures on the London Metal Exchange hitting a post-crisis intraday high of $2,575.25 a metric ton Wednesday.

Alumina's current spot price of $390/ton is 15.1% of that price, and the company said its realised sale prices in 2010 rose 28% on the previous year.

AWAC is the largest supplier of alumina to independent smelters, although major miners such as United Co. Rusal PLC （0486.HK）, Rio Tinto PLC /quotes/comstock/13*!rio/quotes/nls/rio （RIO 75.40, +0.22, +0.29%） , and Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. /quotes/comstock/13*!ach/quotes/nls/ach （ACH 23.90, -1.16, -4.63%） , or Chinalco, produce large volumes of the material for their own smelters。