Norsk Hydro to cut aluminium output by 20% at Slovak plant due to weak demand

OSLO (Reuters) – Norsk Hydro (OL:), one of the world’s biggest aluminium producers, said on Monday it plans to cut production by 20% at its majority-owned Slovalco plant in Slovakia, citing a weakening market.

The plant has an annual production capacity of 175,000 tonnes of primary aluminium, the firm said.

“This is in line with what we have said earlier: that we see a demanding market, it is something we’ve seen throughout the autumn, and we have lowered our growth forecast throughout the year,” Norsk Hydro spokesman Halvor Molland said.

The production cut is expected to start next month, provided it is formally approved at the plant’s annual general meeting.

Hydro said in October that it expected global demand outside China to be largely flat in 2020, in a range from negative 1% to 1% growth, while domestic Chinese demand will likely rise by 1-3%.

Norsk Hydro owns 55.3% of the Slovalco plant, while Penta Investments holds 44.7%.

The plant also has a casthouse capacity of close to 200,000 tonnes.

Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.