Alro SA registered a preliminary net profit of RON 438 million in 2007

Slatina, 18 February, 2008 – Alro SA (BVB: ALR), the largest aluminium producer in Central and Eastern Europe, announces today its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2007. Alro registered a preliminary net profit of RON 438 million, +15% compared to 2006 and a turnover of over RON 2 billion. The production reached 283,000 tonnes of cast aluminium, +8.2% compared to 2006.

Operational investments made in the smelter ensure sustainable operation and resulted in an increase in productivity and efficiency. In 2007 over RON 145 million (US$ 60 million) were invested, also in environmental protection projects and in an upgrade of the processing facility. The company implemented a unified corporate information system based on SAP’s ERP platform, successfully commissioned a state-of-the-art Wagstaff slab caster and upgraded the hot rolling mill.
Between 2002 and 2007, Alro has invested over US$ 210 million in technological and environmental projects.

Alro succeeded in securing alumina at favourable conditions last year, thus lowering raw material and consumables costs by -11% compared to 2006. Moreover, no hedging losses were realised in 2007 and thus the company’s financial costs decreased by almost 50%, reaching RON 121 million.

Although Alro’s investment program led to a decrease of the electricity consumption per tonne of aluminium, the overall utilities costs increased by almost 21% in 2007, compared to 2006. Last year, the company also increased the employees’ wages by up to 20%, and offered several bonuses to the workers, resulting in an increase of labour cost of 33.7% last year, up to RON 197.5 million.

The company paid more than RON 182 million in overall taxes last year.

“Continued high aluminium prices and solid operational performances contributed to the annual result, providing a good foundation for Alro going forward”, said Marian Nastase, Vice President of the Board of Directors at Alro SA. “Our assessment of the demand outlook is positive, despite the recent difficulties financial markets experienced. We will continue to focus on higher added-value products, where we still see a lot of potential”.