Chalco remains bullish on second-half results

Aluminum Corporation of China Ltd. (Chalco)<601600><2600> said it expects aluminum and alumina prices to remain steady for the remainder of the year, following its fall in prices in the first half of 2007, Xinhua reported.

The steady prices will be of benefit to the company's second-half results.

The selling price of aluminum had fallen by 2.7% year-on-year in the first half, to cost RMB 17,122 per ton. While the selling price of alumina remained at RMB 2,956 per ton, this was a drop of 25.4% year-on-year.

Alumina is a major raw material for producing aluminum.

The falling prices were the cause of Chalco's drop in profit, the company said. Chalco had reported Monday that net profit for its first-half had fallen by 5.1% year-on-year to RMB 6.397 billion. Figures were calculated under the Chinese accounting standard.

Chalco's chairman and CEO, Xiao Yaqing, told media that he expects alumina's selling price to stabilize between RMB 3,500 to RMB 4,000 per ton in the second half, while he predicts that the price of aluminum will be between RMB 19,000 to RMB 22,000 a ton.

As such, with these expectations, Xiao said he remains bullish on the company's operating results in the second half.

Aluminum Corporation of China Ltd. is a China-based manufacturer and seller of virgin aluminum and aluminum oxide, as well as the mining of alumyte.