Emirates Global Aluminium Sees Profit Soar Ahead of Possible IPO

Emirates Global Aluminium PJSC, the Middle East’s biggest producer of the metal, posted a record profit in the first half of the year as prices soared along with those of other commodities.

The company, whose United Arab Emirates-based shareholders are considering an initial public offering, generated income of 1.74 billion dirhams ($473 million), after a loss of $57 million a year earlier. Core earnings were $950 million.

Aluminum — a light, easily-recyclable metal used in everything from beer cans to plane parts and which may be used more often in electric vehicles — has climbed as major economies recover from the Coronavirus pandemic. Futures in London are up almost 35% in 2021 to $2,650 a ton, the highest in around a decade.

“We are bullish about prices,” EGA’s chief financial officer, Zouhir Regragui, said in an interview. The short-term outlook is positive because of the post-Covid economic bounce, while in the long run aluminum will benefit as producers manage to cut their greenhouse gas emissions, he said.

EGA is equally owned by two sovereign wealth funds — Investment Corp. of Dubai and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Co. Mubadala said in April it was close to a listing of the company, which may be valued around $15 billion to $20 billion.