Alcan boosts Alouette stake (September 09, 2002)

Montreal-based Alcan has doubled to 40% its stake in the 243,000-tonne, low-cost Aluminerie Alouette smelter in Sept-Iles, Que.

The company, which already had a 20% stake in the facility, acquired Corus Group’s 20% stake for about US$165 million. Corus, an Anglo-Dutch steelmaker, says the sale is part of its plan to exit the aluminum business in order to focus on carbon steels. The company hopes to part with the rest of its aluminum assets by year-end.

The smelter’s remaining stakeholders are Norsk Hydro and Austria Metall, with 20% apiece, SGF, with 13.33%, and Marubeni, with 6.67%.

“Doubling our stake in the Alouette smelter further increases the growth opportunities open to Alcan,” says Alcan’s chief executive officer, Travis Engen.

A $1.4-billion expansion to double the smelter’s capacity is already slated to begin next year.

Pending regulatory approval, the deal is expected to close by the end of September.

Alcan posted second-quarter income of US$70 million (or US22 per diluted share) on sales and operating revenue of US$3.2 billion. By comparison, the major earned US$72 million (22 per share) on US$3.2 billion in revenue in the corresponding period of 2001.

Profits in the recent quarter suffered through US$70 million worth of foreign-currency translation charges plus US$8 million in non-recurring charges.

Shipments of aluminum in all forms during the period totalled 1.1 million tonnes, up 1% from a year earlier.