By Norsk Hydro will cut more costs and step up growth in metal recycling, renewable energy and its recently established batteriesmaking unit as the Norwegian aluminiummaker strives to recover from a tough few years.
Hydros operations have faced a string of major disruptions, including a 2018 spill that reduced raw material supplies from Brazil, a 2019 cyber attack that paralysed the organisation and then the COVID19 outbreak in 2020.
While demand for metals plunged early in the pandemic, resulting in a big oversupply of aluminium, the market has gradually recovered.
Hydro, one of the worlds largest aluminium makers, now aims to cut costs by 8.5 billion Norwegian crowns 963 million between 2019 and 2025, up from a previous goal of 7.3 billion crowns for 20192023, it said in a strategy update on Thursday.
Were raising the bar, setting a new ambitious improvement target for 2025, combined with a clear strategy to make Hydro a profitable and sustainable industry leader, Chief Executive Hilde Merete Aasheim said in a statement.
While some units could face cuts, Hydro did not say whether the size of its 36,000 global workforce would change.
Pursuing growth within existing operations could add a further 2 billion crowns in annual earnings by the middle of the decade, and planned moves in recycling, renewable energy and batteries could also make significant contributions, it said.
Hydro also aims to eventually spin off minority stakes in battery ventures, listing them on the…
