Russia’s RUSAL posted a US$803M profit in its FY2024 results, representing a staggering 185% y-o-y increase due to the rise in alumina and aluminium prices over the year, and lower costs.

In 2024, alumina prices rose considerably, reaching a record high of US$749/t in November. RUSAL subsequently raised its alumina production to take advantage of these higher prices, producing 6.43Mt of alumina in 2024 – a 25% rise over its 2023 output of 5.13Mt. RUSAL noted this expansion was possible following strategic investment in the Hebei Wenfeng New Materials alumina refinery. The group’s bauxite production also rose nearly 19% y-o-y to reach 13.38Mt.

Higher alumina production supported the increase in primary aluminium output to 3.85Mt, reflecting a 4% y-o-y rise in FY2024. However, sales of primary aluminium and alloys dropped 7.1% y-o-y to 4.15Mt. Lower sales were partially offset by higher average aluminium sales prices of US$2,439/t (up 3.3% y-o-y), with an average premium over the LME price of US$186/t. The company benefitted from lower production costs in its aluminium segment, with these dropping 6.8% y-o-y to US$2,173/t. Overall, revenue declined by 1.1% y-o-y to US$12.1Bn.

From a geographic perspective, revenue from external customers was concentrated in China, with Chinese revenue contributing 31% of RUSAL's 2024 total. Since the onset of the conflict with Ukraine in 2022, Russia has tried to diversify its exports to Asian markets, however, Europe still contributes 20% to its revenue. Since 2022, unwrought aluminium from Russia to the EU has declined almost five-fold, from 661kt to 133kt.  Given the EU’s 16th sanctions package against Russia adopted in February 2025, Russian aluminium exports to EU countries are anticipated to continue decreasing.