KUALA LUMPUR, June 4 — Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd has recorded a lower net profit of RM102.56 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2020 (Q1 2020) from RM115.11 million posted in the same period last year.
Revenue declined 15.7 per cent to RM1.83 billion versus RM2.17 billion previously, mainly attributed to lower realised aluminium prices as compared to last year.
Commenting on the results, group chief executive officer Tan Sri Paul Koon said the aluminium company was facing a challenging start to the year due to the escalation of Covid-19 which became a pandemic and affected all countries.
“A majority of the world economy was halted or severely disrupted by enforced quarantines, lockdowns and travel restrictions. With reduced economic activities and shutdowns in industries, both the aluminium demand and prices were impacted.
“However, we have partially locked in some favourable pricing from our forward hedging, which mitigated some of the impacts from the prevailing low-price environment,” he said in a statement.
The group expects a recovery in prices should the situation improve without a new wave from the virus spread.
Koon noted that prices of key raw materials such as alumina had also normalised to a more reasonable level compared to 2019, while the movements of the US dollar and renminbi (RMB) also worked in the company’s favour, as sales are denominated in US dollars and carbon anode are purchased in RMB.
“Despite a temporary setback from the pandemic, we are confident of our low-cost model and remain committed to executing our expansion as planned,” he added. — Bernama
