China aluminum profits slump in first quarter

China’s aluminum industry had a shaky start to the year, with state enterprise Aluminium Corp of China, or Chalco, posting first-quarter net profits down 19.4% year-on-year on the back of sinking aluminium prices.

Chalco’s net profits came in at RMB308.6 million ($48.94 million) up to the end of March, Reuters reports, down from RMB382.9 million in the same period last year. Sales also fell by 10.5% during the quarter.

Several one-off gains, totalling RMB282.25 million, helped to bolster the disappointing profits figures. Of these were included a RMB166.4 million fair-value gains on subsidiaries and affiliates, and RMB12.7 billion in share buy-backs. Without these one-off boosts net profits would have been only around RMB26 million.