Dubai: Dubai Aluminium Company Limited, also known as Dubal, on Tuesday said its net profit surged 101.8 per cent to Dh2.13 billion in 2010 as sales and production marked significant increase during the year.

The state-owned aluminium giant achieved gross sales revenue of Dh8.67 billion last year compared to Dh6.89 billion in 2009 and maintained its status as one of the most profitable corporations in the Emirate of Dubai’s portfolio.

“Having achieved record gross sales revenue of Dh8.670 billion with record net profits of Dh2.129 billion equating to approximately 24.6 per cent of gross sales revenue, Dubal’s status has been maintained as one of the most profitable corporations in the Emirate of Dubai’s portfolio,” said Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance.

Shaikh Hamdan, who is also the chairman of the Dubal board, chaired the ordinary annual general meeting of the company at Dubal’s Jebel Ali site. Vice Chairman of Dubal Ahmed Humaid Al Tayer, President and Chief Executive Officer of Dubal Abdulla J M Kalban, board of directors and Khalifa Hassan Al Dabbous representing Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD) also attended the meeting.

Shaikh Hamdan acknowledged the high safety and environmental performance standards maintained by Dubal. “The company’s leading position is further affirmed by compound annual revenue and profit growth rates from 1995 to 2010 of 11 per cent and 7.9 per cent respectively,” he said. According to Kalban, Dubal’s achievements in 2010 reflect a combination of higher production and sales volumes, plus the benefit of higher aluminium prices, coupled with sustained focus on controlling the cash conversion cost, the latter despite increasing pressure on the purchase prices of raw materials. “Reducing budgeted capital expenditures and maintaining tight working capital control also contributed significantly to achieving a improved cash generation from operating activities and free cash flow. This, together with optimised gearing, ensured that Dubal’s balance sheet remained strong,” Kalban said.

Widely acknowledged as the UAE’s industrial flagship, Dubal began operating in 1979 with an initial production capacity of 135,000 metric tonnes per annum. The company has since undergone a series of major expansion projects, together increasing the production capacity of Dubal’s Jebel Ali plant more than seven-fold to more than one million metric tonnes per annum. “This remarkable achievement not only marked the first time that DUBAL surpassed the one million metric tonne hot metal milestone in the company’s 31-year history, but also represented growth of 4.9 per cent on the 955,404 metric tonnes produced in 2009,” Kalban said.

“Going forward, ever-higher hot metal production is expected each year, driven by further productivity gains.”

Moreover, both cast product and sales volumes exceeded one million metric tonnes for the second consecutive year, with DUBAL selling 1.5 per cent more metal in 2010 than in 2009. These statistics highlight the company’s ranking as a major supplier of premium quality, highest purity aluminium to the global market, especially as more than 88 per cent of Dubal’s annual production is exported to more than 300 customers in at least 45 countries in various parts of the world.

DUBAL’s performance also continued to improve in terms of employee safety as the company’s total recordable injury frequency rate decreased from 4.27 in 2009 to 4.21 by the end of 2010 — an improvement of 45 per cent over the last three years.

Dubal is a strong proponent of Emiratisation — more than 70 per cent of employees at senior management level are UAE Nationals, while 14.2 per cent of the total Dubal workforce comprises local employees. “Our aim is to be a clear leader by example,” Kalban said.

Kalban also briefed the Dubal board on the progress of the company’s investment projects. He said commissioning of all 756 reduction cells in EMAL Phase I was completed in record time by the end of 2010, enabling the plant to operate at its full capacity of 740,000 metric tonnes per annum from 2011 onwards.Emirates Aluminium Company Limited (EMAL) smelter development project in the Al Taweelah area of Abu Dhabi is a joint venture in which Dubal is a 50 per cent shareholder with Mubadala Development Company.