Mt. Holly Smelter and Jamalco Divestitures Further Company Strategy to Create a Globally Competitive Commodity Business
Alcoa (NYSE: AA) today announced that it has completed two
previously-announced sales within its Global Primary Products portfolio.
The divestitures, one in the United States and the second in Jamaica,
are aligned with Alcoa’s strategy to lower its cost base and create a
globally competitive business.
Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals (AWAC) finalized the sale of its 55
percent ownership stake in the Jamalco bauxite mining and alumina
refinery joint venture to Noble Group Ltd. The Company completed the
sale, announced
on October 15, 2014, after receiving all regulatory approvals.
Jamalco is located in Clarendon, Jamaica.
AWAC will continue as Jamalco’s managing operator for three years under
a compensated service agreement and employees remain employed by
Jamalco. AWAC is the joint venture owned 60 percent by Alcoa and 40
percent by Alumina Limited of Australia.
Alcoa also finalized the sale of its 50.3 percent interest in the Mt.
Holly aluminum smelter in Goose Creek, South Carolina, to Century
Aluminum Company. The smelter has the capacity to produce 229,000 metric
tons of aluminum annually. Alcoa
announced its plan to sell its stake to Century on October 23, 2014.
Both sales are in line with Alcoa’s strategy to create a globally
competitive commodity business. In its Primary Metals business, the
Company has curtailed, closed or sold 1.3 million metric tons, or 31
percent of its highest cost global smelting capacity since 2007. At Alcoa’s
2014 Investor Day, the Company reaffirmed its goal to lower its
position on the global aluminum cost curve by five percentage points
from the 43rd percentile to the 38th percentile by
2016. In its Alumina business, the Company said that its position on the
alumina cost curve had improved to the 25th percentile in
2014 from the 27th percentile in 2013. Alcoa also reaffirmed
its goal to further improve that cost position to the 21st
percentile by 2016.
About Alcoa
A global leader in lightweight metals technology, engineering and
manufacturing, Alcoa innovates multi-material solutions that advance our
world. Our technologies enhance transportation, from automotive and
commercial transport to air and space travel, and improve industrial and
consumer electronics products. We enable smart buildings, sustainable
food and beverage packaging, high-performance defense vehicles across
air, land and sea, deeper oil and gas drilling and more efficient power
generation. We pioneered the aluminum industry over 125 years ago, and
today, our approximately 62,000 people in 30 countries deliver value-add
products made of titanium, nickel and aluminum, and produce
best-in-class bauxite, alumina and primary aluminum products. For more
information, visit www.alcoa.com,
follow @Alcoa on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Alcoa
and follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Alcoa.
Alcoa
Investor Contact
Kelly Pasterick, 212-836-2674
Kelly.Pasterick@alcoa.com
or
Media Contact
Monica Orbe, 212-836-2632
Monica.Orbe@alcoa.com