[ferro-alloys.com]Russian aluminum producer Rusal said Monday that its aluminum sales in the July-September quarter rose 33.6% from the previous quarter due to the US extending the wind-down period for sanctions against the company.

Rusal reported total sales of primary aluminum ingot and alloy products of 1,046,000 mt during the quarter, up 33.6% from the April-June quarter, and revenue of $2.9 billion, up 29.5% during the period.

The US government, which imposed sanctions against the Russian producer on April 6, provided a wind-down period when Rusal could maintain its business at pre-sanction levels. Initially the wind-down period was to end on June 5, but it was extended to October 23 and recently to November 12.

"Adverse effect of the OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control) sanctions resulted in extraordinary low sales in the second quarter. Compared to this low base level, there was a one-off recovery in Q3," the company said.

Rusal's aluminum sales over January-September were 2,794,000 mt, down 5.4% from a year ago. Its production was 2,810,000 mt, up 1.7% year on year.

Before the sanctions, Rusal was exporting 2.9 million mt/year to the US and its allies in Europe and Asia, according to JP Morgan estimates.

The total revenue for the nine-months period was $7.9 billion in 2018, up 9.6% from $7.2 billion posted last year thanks to the London Metal Exchange aluminum prices averaging 12% higher.

Rising aluminum deficit outside of China and decline of stocks propelled the rise in prices, Rusal said.

"The company's current assessment [of sanctions] remains teh same, that it is highly likely that the impact may be materially adverse to the business of the group," it said.

(S&P Global Platts)

• [Editor:王可]