Chalco third-quarter loss widened amid sliding aluminum prices

Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd., the nation’s biggest producer of the lightweight metal, said a loss in the third quarter widened from a year earlier as prices dropped.

Net loss was 1.22 billion yuan ($200 million) in the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with a loss of 1.08 billion yuan a year earlier, the Beijing-based company said today in a filing to the Shanghai stock exchange. Sales climbed 22 percent to 45.4 billion yuan.

Aluminum Corp., known as Chalco, is seeking to trim losses by controlling costs and disposing of unprofitable assets. It sold its aluminum fabrication business in June to its parent and said this month it plans to sell its stake in an African iron ore venture for about $2.07 billion.

The stock gained 2 percent to HK$3 in Hong Kong at the close, matching the 2 percent gain on the benchmark Hang Seng index, before the announcement today. The stock has declined 15 percent this year. Aluminum in London has fallen 9.2 percent this year through yesterday and average 6.2 percent lower in the third quarter from a year ago.

Chalco’s disposal of its fabrication unit would allow the company to avoid 500 million yuan of operating losses, Standard Chartered Plc said in an Oct. 18 report. Its proposal to sell its share of the Simandou iron-ore project in Guinea, a venture with Rio Tinto Group, to its parent will reduce Chalco’s capital expenditure burden, the bank said in the report.

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