Russia’s UC RUSAL Plc, the world’s gest aluminium producer, posted an 84% drop in first-quarter net profit as prices fell, potentially fuelling a shareholder row over the company’s refusal to sell its stake in Norilsk Nickel.RUSAL’s management, led by its controlling shareholder Oleg Deripaska, has resisted pressure to dispose of its 25-percent share in the world’s largest nickel and palladium company to pay down debts at a time when aluminium markets are weak.
Deripaska’s dreams of a mega-merger with the $14-billion stake purchase four years ago, financed through debt, were dashed when the global crisis struck.RUSAL was forced into a debt restructuring, and shareholder and billionaire Viktor Vekselberg urged Deripaska to sell off the stake, currently worth about $7.9 billion.In addition to the dispute over Norilsk, Vekselberg, who resigned as chairman in March, is challenging a large aluminium supply deal with a third RUSAL shareholder -- commodity trade giant Glencore.
First-quarter net profit, which included its share of earnings in Norilsk and non-cash items, slumped to $74 million in the three months ended March from $451 million a year earlier.Recurring net profit fell 77 percent to $112 million. But RUSAL’s quarterly results beat those of Chinese competitor Aluminum Corp of China Ltd (Chalco) , which warned of a loss for the first half ending June 2012 after recording a net loss of $172.73 million) in the first quarter.