Hydro’s aluminum recycling volumes fell by 40pc in the first two months of Q2 2020 because of weak demand stemming from pandemic-induced automotive shutdowns.
The company’s extruder and rolled product sales also decreased by 21pc and 42pc, respectively, in April and May compared to the same two-month period last year.
However, increased output from its smelter in Albras, Brazil, saw Hydro’s primary aluminum production increase by 5pc in April and May over the same period in 2019. The increase in primary metal production in Brazil also offset the output decline from its Slovalco smelter in Slovakia, the company noted in its production report on Monday.
The company’s alumina and bauxite production increased by 82pc during the two-month period after production of the raw materials, which are used to make aluminum, rose at its Brazilian Paragominas mine and Alunorte alumina refinery after the government lifted production restrictions that were intended to curtail COVID-19’s spread.
Hydro’s production and sales in April-May 2020
(in mt)
| Production/Sales | April-May 2020 | April-May 2019 | % change |
| Remelted/Recycled Aluminum | 55,000 | 92,000 | -40pc |
| Primary Aluminum | 341,000 | 326,000 | 5pc |
| Extruded Solutions Sales | 138,000 | 237,000 | -42pc |
| Rolled Products Sales | 131,000 | 166,000 | -21pc |
| Bauxite and Alumina | 989,000 | 543,000 | 82pc |