In 2023, net profit of the aluminum monopoly Rusal collapsed 6-fold YoY due to the drop in prices despite the growth in sales after the company reoriented to Asia.
Rusal was hit by direct Western sanctions in 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Last year, Rusal sales increased by 6.6%, to 4.15 million tons, with the output up by 0.3%, to 3.85 million tons.
Sales to China grew more than 2.5-fold, to $2.86 billion, and the country’s share increased from 8% in 2022 to 23.4%.
But the overall growth of sales was dwarfed by the LME price fall by 16.8%, to $2252 per ton, and the fall in average sales prices by 18%, to $2439 per ton. (Ukrainian metal)