EGA Reports Profit and Revenue Decline Amidst Iran War Disruptions to Aluminium Sales

Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has announced a 9 per cent decrease in its adjusted net profit for the first nine months of the year. This downturn is attributed to impairments resulting from lost production following an Iranian attack on its Al Taweelah plant and subsequent export disruptions. For the nine months ending September, adjusted net profit stood at $744 million, a decrease from $817 million recorded in the same period of 2025, according to a statement released by EGA on Thursday. EGA is recognized as one of the UAE’s largest non-oil industrial conglomerates.

The net profit for the period was $547 million, after accounting for a net impact of $197 million related to the war-related incident in March. This incident necessitated an emergency shutdown of all EGA’s Al Taweelah plants located in Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad). Consequently, the company’s revenue experienced a 16 per cent annual decline, totaling $5.28 billion over the nine-month period.

Abdulnasser bin Kalban, chief executive of EGA, stated, “In the first nine months of 2026, EGA has been tested like never before. During this challenging period of recovery, we have continued our focus on delivering long-term growth. While challenges remain ahead of us, across EGA we share determination and full confidence that EGA will come back stronger than ever.”

The shutdown following the March incident resulted in a $53 million impact on adjusted Ebitda. However, operations at the Jebel Ali facility and EGA’s international recycling plants remained unaffected throughout this period. Despite these setbacks, EGA reported an increase in its adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) margin to 30 per cent for the January to September period, up from 28 per cent in the previous year. This improvement was bolstered by higher aluminium prices and effective cost management strategies.

The Al Taweelah shutdown also negatively impacted aluminium sales volumes. Total sales volumes dropped by 36 per cent to 1.33 million tonnes during the nine months. This decline reflects reduced metal availability from Al Taweelah and logistical constraints on outbound shipments from the UAE during the period, as stated by EGA. To mitigate these issues, the company established alternative export routes via corridors leading to ports outside the Strait of Hormuz, ensuring the continuation of customer shipments. In September, EGA entered into an agreement with Gulftainer to enhance aluminium exports through the UAE's eastern coast ports, facilitating the shipment of up to 250,000 tonnes in the first year, with an increase to 300,000 tonnes in the second year.

Furthermore, EGA has diversified its inbound supply routes and secured a renewed bauxite agreement with Guinea's Compagnie des Bauxites de Brega, ensuring an annual supply of up to 4.9 million tonnes until 2044. EGA confirmed on Thursday that it is actively working on restoring its Al Taweelah smelter. Currently, 766 out of the 1,262 reduction cells requiring restart are operational, representing 61 per cent of the total. The company aims for a full restart in the first quarter of 2027, with production levels increasing as more cells come back online.

The disruption also affected the company’s alumina refinery, which produced 899,000 tonnes in the first nine months of 2026, a decrease from 1.75 million tonnes in the prior year. Following its restart in July, the refinery had reached approximately 70 per cent capacity by September.

EGA estimates that the complete restoration of Al Taweelah production will necessitate capital expenditure of approximately $400 million. This investment will be funded through the company's balance sheet and operating cash flow, as communicated by EGA's chief financial officer, Pal Kildemo, to The National in August. The company maintains a robust balance sheet, with $1.93 billion in cash and term deposits, and an additional $1 billion available through an undrawn revolving credit facility.

In parallel, EGA continues its global expansion efforts. In September, the company finalized the acquisition of an 80 per cent stake in the Italian aluminium recycler Eco Green. This acquisition boosts its global recycling capacity to over 400,000 tonnes annually, with an additional 200,000 tonnes currently under development. Although the aluminium market is currently undersupplied, EGA anticipates a shift towards a more balanced market position by 2027, according to Mr. Kildemo on Thursday.