Higher alumina prices resulted in the Russian-owned company that operates the largest alumina refinery in Europe on the shores of the Shannon estuary post record pretax profits of $119.36 million (€103.4 million) in 2024.
Accounts just filed by Limerick Alumina Refining Ltd (LARL) show that the firm returned to profit after revenues rose by 50 per cent or $292.25 million (€253 million) to $875.36 million in 2024.
No dividend was paid to its Russian parent company, Rusal. Publication of the accounts had been delayed by a number of months and were only signed off on Tuesday by its directors.
The directors state that the Co Limerick-based Aughinish Alumina business recorded the profits “primarily due to higher alumina market prices”.
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A recent Irish Times investigation, carried out in co-operation with the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, found that the Aughinish Alumina plant was shipping vast amounts of alumina to smelters in Russia where it is used to make aluminium, which is then sold to a trading company, ASK, that supplies dozens of Russian arms manufacturers.
[ Video Aughinish investigation: From the Shannon to SiberiaOpens in new window ]
Rusal, the company that owns the Aughinish plant, has deep connections to the Kremlin and Moscow’s arms industry.
Earlier this week, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he was “concerned” about media reports that raw materials produced at Aughinish Alumina were ultimately supplying “the Russian war effort”.
In response to the allegations, Aughinish Alumina said it operates “in strict compliance with all applicable European Union laws, including sanctions, export control measures and trade regulations” and it has “implemented a robust sanctions compliance and due diligence framework covering its entire supply chain”.
[ The Irish Times view on Aughinish Alumina: revelations pose urgent questionsOpens in new window ]
The profit posted for 2024 followed pretax losses of $113.6 million in 2023 – a positive swing of $233 million.
At the end of December last, its accumulated losses totalled $240.2 million.
The firm recorded operating profits of $188.3 million after taking into account exceptional costs of $27.4 million, which relate mainly to the impairment of tangible assets of $25.8 million.
Staff costs increased from $52.4 million to $55.4 million. Aggregate pay to directors rose from $706,000 to $766,000. The number of staff employed to work at the plant is not detailed.
The directors state in the accounts that due to its trading structure, the company is reliant on financial support from its parent company, UC Rusal.
The directors state that while the 2024 financial statements for UC Rusal recorded a profit and net current assets, its 2025 financial statements recorded a loss and net current liabilities.
Neither the company in Ireland nor its parent, UC Rusal, have not been designated under the published UK, EU or US sanctions issued to date.
[ Message from the Editor: How our Aughinish investigation came togetherOpens in new window ]
The directors state that in spite of the company not being designated, it is continuously being impacted by the effects of self-sanctioning by commercial counterparties and intermediaries.
The accounts note that this includes delays in the processing of transactions by banks and it remains a principal concern that the company and/or its parent may be designated under a future sanctions package from the US, EU or UK.
The accounts also note that in March last year, An Coimisión Pleanála granted permission to expand its bauxite residue disposal area to allow the refinery to continue to operate until 2039 – a seven-year extension from its initial licence.
