UPDATE: Chalco 1Q Net Loss CNY1.89 Billion Vs Net Profit CNY1.25 Billion
April 29 2009 - 9:47AM
Dow Jones News
Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. (ACH), or Chalco, said Wednesday it
swung to a first-quarter net loss due to low metal prices.
The country's biggest alumina producer by output reported a net
loss of CNY1.89 billion ($277 million) for the three months ended
March 31, compared with a net profit of CNY1.25 billion a year
earlier, the company said.
However, the loss was slightly better than the CNY2.57 billion
net loss in the fourth quarter last year, due to a recovery of
alumina price in recent months.
Chalco said in late March that the international financial
crisis, raw material price hikes and sharply decreasing commodity
prices pose unprecedented difficulties and challenges to the
group's production and operations. The company has suspended part
of its production due to losses. Revenue for the first quarter fell
24% to CNY13.94 billion from CNY18.44 billion, Chalco said.
Earlier this year, Chalco's parent, state-run Aluminum Corp. of
China, signed a landmark $19.5 billion deal for part of
Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto Ltd. (RTP)
-By Yvonne Lee and Juan Chen, Dow Jones Newswires;
852-2802-7002; yvonne.lee@dowjones.com