VALCO charts new course towards industrial transformation as EBITDA swings to US$1.4m profit

The Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO) has recorded a significant financial turnaround, moving from an EBITDA loss of US$13.08 million in 2025 to a positive US$1.4 million for the nine months to September 2026, as management intensifies efforts to restore the smelter's operational capacity and reposition it as a central pillar of Ghana's integrated aluminium industry.

The Chief Executive Officer of VALCO, Dr Robert Makila Sambian (PhD, FCCA, CA), disclosed this when he addressed the media on Tuesday, outlining the company's operational recovery, financial performance, strategic investments and long-term transformation agenda.

He said the improvement in financial performance reflected deliberate management interventions aimed at addressing longstanding operational inefficiencies, reducing unsustainable costs and moving the company beyond its traditional dependence on primary aluminium production.

VALCO, a wholly state-owned enterprise incorporated on 5 January 1960, is a private company limited by shares, with all 4,285,720 issued shares held by the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) on behalf of the Government of Ghana.

Dr Sambian said when the current management assumed responsibility, the Tema-based smelter was operating with just 114 active pots out of 200 deployable pots, while its business model remained heavily dependent on primary aluminium sales, exposing the company to fluctuations in international market prices.

The company was also relying on rented critical mobile equipment at considerable cost, a situation that placed additional pressure on its margins and constrained operational efficiency.

He said management had since moved away from what he described as a passive, wait-and-see approach, introducing a more proactive strategy to restore production capacity and improve the company's competitiveness.

A major component of the intervention was the transition from a rental-based equipment arrangement to a structured pay-to-own framework.

According to Dr Sambian, the new arrangement, negotiated on favourable terms with deferred payment obligations, has enabled VALCO to undertake one of its most significant equipment acquisitions since the departure of Kaiser Aluminium several decades ago.

Operational recovery faces setback after power crisis

VALCO's operational recovery has, however, encountered a major setback following the power system collapse on 29 June 2026.

Dr Sambian said the company had increased its average active cell count from 114 to 122 by June 2026, with operations reaching 124 cells before the incident disrupted production.

The collapse of the national power grid, followed by the failure of a company transformer, resulted in an electrolytic power outage lasting approximately seven hours and 20 minutes.

The prolonged interruption severely affected the smelter's operations, reducing its active cells to 90 unstable units.

Although the plant survived the outage, the incident significantly disrupted the production recovery programme.

Management has since undertaken stabilisation measures and resumed the gradual ramp-up of cells, with a target of ending October 2026 with 98 cells in operation.

For the nine months ending 30 September 2026, VALCO produced 29,596 metric tonnes of aluminium against a planned output of 39,813 metric tonnes, representing a shortfall of 25.7 per cent.

Production was also 13.6 per cent lower than the 34,254 metric tonnes recorded during the corresponding period in 2025.

Despite the production challenges, revenue performance remained relatively resilient.

The company recorded revenue of US$103.85 million for the period, compared with a target of US$106.28 million, representing a two per cent shortfall against plan.

This was nevertheless a 13 per cent increase over the US$91.78 million recorded in the corresponding period of 2025, when the company shipped 34,146 metric tonnes.

Dr Sambian said the positive EBITDA of US$1.4 million, compared with the previous year's loss of US$13.08 million, demonstrated the impact of management's efforts to improve operational and financial efficiency, even amid production constraints.

Beyond restoring production, management is pursuing a strategic shift from the export and sale of primary aluminium towards manufacturing higher-value products.

A major milestone in this direction was the installation of VALCO's first-ever value-addition production facility, an Electrical Grade Rod Mill.

The facility is currently producing electrical-grade aluminium rods for both the domestic and European markets.

Dr Sambian described the development as an important turning point in the company's history, noting that it represents a deliberate move towards deeper participation in the aluminium value chain.

The rod mill is expected to support Ghana's downstream manufacturing sector by providing locally produced raw materials, reducing dependence on imported aluminium products, creating employment opportunities and increasing export earnings.

The investment also aligns with President John Dramani Mahama's vision of developing an integrated aluminium industry in Ghana, in which local bauxite resources are processed into alumina and aluminium before being transformed into finished and semi-finished products.

For VALCO, the strategy is not simply about increasing production volumes but also about creating greater economic value from every tonne of aluminium produced.

As part of efforts to improve operational reliability and prepare the smelter for increased production, VALCO has made substantial investments in equipment and supporting infrastructure.

The acquisitions include 16 lift trucks, two payloaders, one dump truck, an articulated truck head, a tow tractor, two melting furnaces, a centrifuge system, mobile crushing equipment and cranes, among other essential machinery.

Management has also initiated natural gas pipeline installation works as part of the company's planned transition from reliance on residual fuel oil (RFO) to natural gas.

Dr Sambian said the equipment injection was intended to address critical operational bottlenecks, reduce dependence on external rentals and improve the efficiency of plant operations.

On raw materials, he disclosed that VALCO had taken delivery of the necessary inputs to support the planned expansion of production to 150 active cells, including 5,000 metric tonnes of imported anodes.

The company's recovery programme is also expected to have significant implications for employment.

VALCO's workforce stood at 848 as of October 2026, representing an increase of 63 employees from the 785 recorded in December 2025.

Dr Sambian indicated that the workforce could expand to approximately 1,500 when all five production lines are restored to full operation.

Beyond direct employment, the company estimates that a fully operational smelter could support more than 6,000 indirect jobs across the wider economy.

These opportunities are expected to emerge from activities in logistics, transportation, engineering, maintenance, manufacturing, raw material supply and downstream aluminium processing.

VALCO's transformation comes at a critical time in Ghana's ambition to harness its mineral resources for industrial development, job creation and increased export earnings.

For decades, the smelter has represented one of the country's most important industrial assets.

However, operational constraints, infrastructure challenges, energy requirements and limited investment have restricted its ability to operate at its full potential.

The current strategy seeks to address these challenges while redefining VALCO's role in the national economy.

Its stated vision is to become a world-class aluminium smelter and the anchor of Ghana's integrated aluminium industry, producing competitive primary aluminium and value-added products for domestic and international markets.

The broader ambition is to create a commercially sustainable enterprise that can provide a reliable market for locally produced alumina, supply raw materials to downstream manufacturers and attract investment across the aluminium value chain.

While the June power crisis has exposed the vulnerability of the smelter's recovery efforts to energy and infrastructure disruptions, management's immediate priority remains restoring operational stability and increasing active cell numbers.

The financial turnaround, equipment acquisitions and introduction of the rod mill suggest that VALCO is pursuing a broader restructuring rather than simply seeking to return to previous production levels.

The real test, however, will be whether the company can sustain its financial gains, secure the investment required for comprehensive rehabilitation and translate its ambitious production targets into lasting industrial growth.

For Ghana, the stakes extend beyond the revival of a single state-owned enterprise.

A revitalised VALCO could become a critical link between the country's bauxite resources, proposed alumina refineries, energy infrastructure and growing downstream manufacturing sector.

Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith