Hulamin's CEO outlines plans for growth despite profit drop, share price rises
ALUMINIUM
The share price of Hulamin, South African manufacturer of specialised rolled aluminium fabrication products, leapt over 13% on Monday, despite reporting a sharp drop in interim earnings, while the group continued to focus on its rolled product sales - rolled product makes up about 80% of its products.
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Aluminium fabrication product group Hulamin’s normalised headline earnings a share fell 48% to 26 cents in the six months to June 30, a period where the main aim was to build sufficient finished goods to supply the market during a 25-day integrated shutdown.
Notwithstanding the lower profit, the share price surged 13.8% to R2.74 on the JSE on Monday afternoon.
The aim was also to maintain profitability and cash flow during this period, said CEO Mark Gounder at the release of the Pietermaritzburg-based group results. Hulamin’s aluminium rolling business maintains long-standing relationships in the packaging, automotive, transport, building, electrical, and general engineering industries worldwide.
Rolled products core volumes were up by 2% at 89kts. No dividend was declared. The group’s biggest activity is aluminium rolling, which contributes more than 80% of revenue, with the balance comprising extruded products and other downstream products. A significant portion of the rolled products goes to regions such as Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia.
He said the second half of the year had begun on a positive note with the successful commissioning of the final phase of the market-driven wide canbody expansion project.
“The focus now shifts to optimising plant productivity across core streams and initiating the product qualification process to achieve commercial readiness by the first quarter of 2026,” he said.
Core streams continued to demonstrate resilience, with strong demand, while geopolitical risks remained a concern.
“Our immediate priority is to maintain a competitive cost base while reducing our net debt, and we have made meaningful progress on our roadmap, positioning our business to deliver sustainable long-term earnings and shareholder value,” said Gounder.
During the first half, positive momentum from higher volumes and a stronger sales mix was partly offset by a stronger exchange rate, higher inflationary energy costs, and increased pricing pressure in the local can-end market,” he said.
The market-driven strategic capital plan continued
to be advanced, reaching a milestone with the commissioning of the final phase of the wide canbody expansion project, which aims to displace imports.
“Our next focus is the qualification and commercial readiness of our wide-width products, targeted for the first quarter of 2026. Concurrently, we are working to optimise plant performance to secure strong second-half volumes across our core product streams,” said Gounder.
The group aimed to exit the Extrusions business by the end of 2025, and negotiations were underway about the disposal. In addition, operations at the Containers division ceased on June 6, 2025, and the wind-down and sale of operating assets was currently in progress.
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