Aurubis keeps profits steady, adds chief financial officer

Hamburg, Germany-based metals producer Aurubis AG reports its profits rose slightly compared with a year ago in the first half of its 2023/2024 fiscal year, which ran from Oct. 1, 2023, to April 30 of this year.

The company, which focuses on copper production, attained operating earnings before taxes (EBT) of 243 million euros ($263.9 million) in the six months recently completed. That represents 1.7 percent growth from the 239 million euros earned one year earlier.

The operating in the Aurubis Multimetal Recycling segment fell by 27 percent in the first half of its current fiscal year, from 103 million euros last year to 75 million euros this fiscal year. However, operating EPT rose by about 64 million euros in its Custom Smelting & Products business unit.

“The strong operating result of 243 million euros is due to our unique business model based on diversified supply sources, reliable operating performance in our smelter network and high demand for our metals and products,” says Aurubis CEO Roland Harings, whose tenure at the firm is scheduled to end this September.

On the personnel front, Aurubis has announced the hiring of Steffen Hoffmann as its new chief financial officer (CFO). He will be taking over from Rainer Verhoeven, who will be stepping down at the end of next month.

Hoffmann has spent nearly 30 years with Mercedes Benz AG, Stuttgart, Germany, including in regional CFO roles in Europe and Asia. Most recently, he served as vice president of treasury and investor relations at the automaker.

“In Steffen Hoffmann we have an internationally experienced executive,” Aurubis AG supervisory board chair Dr. Fritz Vahrenholt says. “His many years of experience in international finance will be instrumental in realizing the Aurubis AG growth strategy together with the executive board team and, as such, make a key contribution to the successful implementation of our projects."

One of those projects is the under-construction recycled materials refinery in Augusta, Georgia. That plant is nearing its commissioning, based on a “save-the-date” notice sent out in May.

Aurubis is holding a ribbon-cutting ceremony“on the occasion of the commissioning of the first secondary smelter for complex recycling materials Sept. 20 in Augusta.