Alcoa has reaffirmed its 2025 production guidance for the March quarter, holding its course amid the challenges posed by the newly introduced 25 per cent tariff on aluminium and steel imports into the US.
The company closed out the March quarter in a strong financial position, reporting $US1.2 billion ($1.87 billion) in cash, $US3.4 billion ($5.3 billion) in revenue, $US548 million ($857 million) in net income, and $US855 million ($1.3 billion) in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA).
Alcoa expects 2025 total aluminium segment production and shipments to remain unchanged from its prior projection, ranging between 2.3–2.5 million metric tons (Mt), and between 2.6–2.8Mt respectively.
The global aluminium major reported marginal quarterly declines across both its alumina and aluminium production portfolios. Alcoa delivered 2.35Mt of alumina, marking an almost insignificant one per cent decrease from the December 2024 quarter.
Aluminium output for the quarter totalled 564,000 tonnes, also down one per cent. The company attributed the dip to the quarter being two days shorter, partially offset by continued progress on the Alumar smelter restart in Brazil.
Third-party alumina shipments also slipped by eight per cent, a result of shipment timing and softer trading activity. Aluminium shipments were down five per cent, largely due to the absence of Ma’aden offtake volumes and similar logistical timing factors.
The shift follows Alcoa’s strategic move in September 2024 to sell its stake in the Ma’aden joint venture back to the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) for over $US1 billion ($1.5 billion).
A major factor impacting the company is the 25 per cent US import tariff on steel and aluminium, introduced by President Donald Trump on March 12. The tariff applies to all exporting nations and is expected to reshape global aluminium trade flows.
In response, Alcoa has been actively engaging with stakeholders across the spectrum – from governments and policymakers to suppliers and logistics providers – to outline the critical role of aluminium in the US economy and mitigate potential supply chain disruptions.
“During the first quarter, we maintained our pace of delivering on key operational and capital allocation objectives, including forming the joint venture to support our San Ciprián operations and repositioning debt in Australia,” Alcoa president and chief executive officer William F. Oplinger said.
“A positive aluminium market led to stronger results for the first quarter, while we continued to focus on safety, stability, and operational excellence amidst economic uncertainty.”
Alcoa expects to incur $US90 million ($140 million) in costs during the June 2025 quarter due to the US aluminium tariffs.
