Singaporean aluminum smelter Press Metal Aluminum Holdings reported a 1.2pc rise in profits, despite lower sales prices.
The company noted that there’s rising demand for aluminum, among other commodities, in China, and that it also expects European demand for its value added products to recover this quarter.
The largest aluminum smelter in Southeast Asia intends to commission its phase three expansion in January, which will increase annual capacity by 42pc to 1.08mn mt from 760,000mt. The company is also building a new alumina refinery through its subsidiary, PT Bintan.
In the second quarter, the group posted revenue of MYR1.73bn ($367mn), which decreased by 19pc from MYR2.13bn in Q2 2019. However, the firm’s profit before tax rose to MYR124.9mn in Q2 2020 from MYR123.4mn during the same quarter last year.
($1 = MYR4.71)