Aluminium producer Hydro reports that earnings before financial items and tax fell to NOK 8 million in the third quarter from NOK 549 million in the previous quarter.
Hydro says in its report that low realized alumina and aluminium prices weighed heavily on underlying results for the company's upstream operations for the quarter, while cost improvement programs proceeded with full force to meet the challenging market situation.
"Realized alumina and aluminium prices for the quarter clearly reflect market and macro-economic uncertainty, hitting our weak quarterly results. Hydro's response is to focus our attention on operational performance, portfolio management and capital discipline," Hydro's President and CEO Svein Richard Brandtzæg said.
"The planned transaction with Orkla to form the world's leading aluminium solution provider is strengthening Hydro as a world-leading, resource-rich aluminium company as well as our extusion business. Most of our extrusion markets continue to be demanding and the new company will be better positioned to meet these challenges and to capture the longer-term growth perspectives for aluminium products," Brandtzæg said.
(NRK/Aftenposten/Press release)
