Sumitomo Chemical : Announces Sale of its Shares in Two Overseas Aluminum Smelting Companies
May 31, 2024 at 06:35 am IST
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Sumitomo Chemical Announces Sale of its Shares in Two Overseas Aluminum Smelting Companies
May. 31, 2024
Sumitomo Chemical has decided to sell all of its shares in New Zealand Aluminium Smelters Limited (NZAS) (representing 20.64% of NZAS's outstanding shares) and Boyne Smelters Limited (BSL) (representing 2.46% of BSL's outstanding shares) to Rio Tinto, a British-Australian company and global leader in the mining and metals industry. Sumitomo Chemical and Rio Tinto are partners of both NZAS and BSL. The sale of the shares is scheduled to be completed after the necessary procedures have concluded, including approval by relevant authorities.
Sumitomo Chemical held shares in NZAS and BSL for the purpose of importing primary aluminum from these companies for resale. These businesses, however, are significantly affected by changes in international aluminum market conditions, and Sumitomo Chemical now considers the volatility of their profitability too high for its Group. Accordingly, the Company has decided to sell its shares in NZAS and BSL.
The Sumitomo Chemical Group is accelerating its short-term intensive performance improvement measures aimed at ensuring a V-shaped recovery in fiscal 2024 and strengthening its financial position to lay the groundwork for future fundamental structural reforms. The sale of the shares comes as part of the Group's business portfolio transformation.
Reference:
Overview of NZAS
Company name
New Zealand Aluminium Smelters Limited
Principal place of business
Tiwai Road Invercargill, New Zealand
Founded
1969
Shareholder composition
Rio Tinto (79.36%) and Sumitomo Chemical (20.64%) (As of April 2024)
Overview of BSL
Company name
Boyne Smelters Limited
Principal place of business
Handley Drive, Boyne Island QLD 4680, Australia
Founded
1978
Shareholder composition
Rio Tinto (59.39%), YKK Aluminium (9.50%), UACJ Australia (9.29%), Southern Cross Aluminium (7.71%), Ryowa Development II (6.46%), Ryowa Development (5.19%) and Sumitomo Chemical (2.46%) (As of April 2024)
Contact
Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.
Corporate Communications Dept.
https://www.sumitomo-chem.co.jp/english/contact/public/
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31 May 2024 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by
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Sumitomo Chemical Co Ltd is one of the Japanese largest chemical groups. The group is also manufacturing and marketing pharmaceutical products. Net sales break down by family of products as follows:
- petrochemical and plastic products (25.8%): ethylene, polyethylene, propylene, elastomers, agricultural films, etc.;
- pharmaceutical products (23.9%): ethic drugs, radiopharmaceutical products, etc.;
- telecommunication chemical products (18.9%): optic films, pigments, filters, etc.;
- agrochemical and fine chemistryproducts (18.5%): insecticides, herbicides, fertilizers, food additives, etc.;
- functional chemical products (10.7%): methanol, caustic soda, aluminum hydroxide, alumina, nitric acid, acrylonitrile, active pharmaceutical ingredients, polymeric additives, resorcine, colorants, etc.;
- other (2.2%).
Net sales break down geographically as follows: Japan (31.7%), China (19.2%), Asia (19.5%), North America (17.7%), Europe (4.2%) and other (7.7%).
SUMITOMO CHEMICAL CO., LTD. 
