Alro starts merger with Alum

Fri, 06/09/2006 - 00:00

Slatina –ALRO Slatina (BSE: ALR) starts the merger procedure with alumina producer ALUM Tulcea. The decision will be submitted for the approval of the General Shareholders Meeting of the two companies in July. This is a stage of the vertical integration strategy applied by Marco Industries, owner of the aluminum smelter.

“The group will comprise one aluminum producer – ALRO Slatina, one company of materials resulted from aluminum – ALPROM (currently undergoing merger) and the raw material supplier ALUM”, so Marian Nastase, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors ALRO. “Thus, is it optimized production flow and we would have a better cost control”.

Since the takeover of ALUM’s majority share stake last year, ALRO Slatina has applied the investment plan for modernizing the alumina plant and for environment protection. There was modernized the equipment for loading and storing alumina, and it was installed a dust collection system pursuant to the technical solution provided by ALRO Slatina.

Last year, ALUM invested over $ 2.3m, realizing 92% of the program for conformation to environmental rules agreed with authorities. Its investment plan is part of the general strategy for environment protection used by ALRO, owner of ALUM. The company wants to align alumina producer to environmental obligations set by the European Union.

In the last three years, ALRO invested $ 165m, especially in modernizing production lines and in environment protection. Last year only investments exceeded $ 25m. In 2005, ALRO posted RON 1.618bn turnover and RON 118.22m net profit.