“The pandemic put us all to the test last year. Yet, Hydro managed an
extraordinary 2020 carefully, emerging stronger and well positioned to deliver
on our agenda to become a profitable and more sustainable industry leader,”
…
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President and CEO Hilde Merete Aasheim writes in her letter to shareholders.
“I’m grateful and impressed by how our organization kept the wheels turning,
delivering on the improvement ambitions and positioning Hydro for the future,
while always putting health and safety first,” she adds.
Aasheim points to significant progress toward Hydro’s ambition to lift
profitability and drive sustainability.
"We have accelerated our improvement efforts in 2020. Our extended program
targets NOK 8.5 billion by 2025 across all business areas and staffs. I am happy
that we exceeded our improvement target and achieved savings of NOK 4.2 billion
for 2020, amounting to about half of the overall 2025 ambition.
“This March we reached another milestone with the finalization of the strategic
review of the Rolling business and with a conclusion to sell the business to the
U.S.-based private equity firm KPS Capital Partners. The agreement marks another
step toward making Hydro a profitable and more sustainable industry leader - to
the benefit of our employees, our customers and our shareholders,” Aasheim
continues.
Among other milestones, Aasheim points to the successful verification of the
Karmøy Technology Pilot in Norway in 2020, producing primary aluminium with 15
percent lower specific energy consumption and significantly lower greenhouse gas
emissions compared with the world average. Many of the same technology elements
were implemented in the upgrade at the Husnes aluminium plant in Norway, which
is ramping up to full capacity after running at half capacity since the
financial crisis in 2009. Hydro also sees promising traction in the market for
the low-carbon aluminium brand Hydro REDUXA and the Hydro CIRCAL brand produced
with a minimum of 75 percent post-consumer scrap.
“On social responsibility we are progressing in our work to strengthen local
community relations, communities and business partners through education and
empowerment where we operate. We have high expectations to our pioneer tailings
dry-backfill method at our Paragominas bauxite mine in Brazil, that will
eliminate the need to establish new tailing dams,” Aasheim says.
"We take inspiration from our ability to mobilize as we face another important
transformation: The green transition. In 2020, we established a new strategic
direction toward 2025, building on our profitability and sustainability agenda.
We will pursue our strategic ambition by capturing opportunities where our
capabilities match the global megatrends such
as sustainability, electrification and urbanization.
"The two pillars of our strategic agenda are about strengthening our position in
low-carbon aluminium, while exploring new growth opportunities in areas such as
recycling, renewable energy and batteries. This is how we will create value
going forward.
“As a global energy and aluminium company, Hydro is committed to leading the way
by creating more for less. With a new strategic direction, we embark on the next
chapter in Hydro’s history of building industries that matter and creating value
by taking a lead role in the green transition, producing products and solutions
for the low-carbon, circular economy,” says Aasheim.
The report, meeting the Norwegian statutory requirements for annual reporting,
is “Financial Statements and Board of Directors’ Report - 2020.” This report is
available in Norwegian and English.
In addition, a more extensive report is available, “Annual Report - 2020,” with
detailed information about Hydro’s businesses, operational performance,
financial performance, viability performance, corporate governance,
environmental, social and financial statements. The report is available in
English.
Investor contact:
Line Haugetraa
+47 41406376
Media contact:
Halvor Molland
+47 92979797
Cautionary note
Certain statements included in this announcement contain forward-looking
information, including, without limitation, information relating to (a)
forecasts, projections and estimates, (b) statements of Hydro management
concerning plans, objectives and strategies, such as planned expansions,
investments, divestments, curtailments or other projects, © targeted
production volumes and costs, capacities or rates, start-up costs, cost
reductions and profit objectives, (d) various expectations about future
developments in Hydro’s markets, particularly prices, supply and demand and
competition, (e) results of operations, (f) margins, (g) growth rates, (h) risk
management, and (i) qualified statements such as “expected”, “scheduled”,
“targeted”, “planned”, “proposed”, “intended” or similar.
Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking
statements are reasonable, these forward-looking statements are based on a
number of assumptions and forecasts that, by their nature, involve risk and
uncertainty. Various factors could cause our actual results to differ materially
from those projected in a forward-looking statement or affect the extent to
which a particular projection is realized. Factors that could cause these
differences include, but are not limited to: our continued ability to reposition
and restructure our upstream and downstream businesses; changes in availability
and cost of energy and raw materials; global supply and demand for aluminium and
aluminium products; world economic growth, including rates of inflation and
industrial production; changes in the relative value of currencies and the value
of commodity contracts; trends in Hydro’s key markets and competition; and
legislative, regulatory and political factors.
No assurance can be given that such expectations will prove to have been
correct. Hydro disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section
5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act
Kilde
