[chinalco.com] benefited from the recovery of aluminum price, the rise of pick-up price and the decrease of cost, Rusal, the world's No.1 aluminum producer, has realized profit for the first time in five quarters. Rusal expects revenue and profits to continue to grow in the second half of the year.

Rusal's net income in the second quarter of this year was $116 million, according to a statement released today, after a loss of $325 million in the first quarter.

"Compared with the first quarter, Rusal's fiscal situation in the second quarter improved significantly, thanks to the recovery of aluminum price, the rise of delivery price and cost control," Rusal CEO Oleg Deripaska said in a statement

Steve Hodgson, head of sales and marketing at Rusal, said in a telephone interview with Bloomberg news that aluminum prices will continue to rise in the second half of 2014 because of the increasing number of cancelled warehouse receipts on the London Metal Exchange,

"This is also in line with the tight spot market and strong demand."

In addition, the increase of investor interest will also boost the price of aluminum, and the shortage of production capacity in the main market will lead to the continuous rise of aluminum delivery price.

According to Bloomberg news, citing Rusal's cfoalexandra bouriko, the devaluation of the ruble also benefited Rusal as 66% of its aluminium production costs were settled in rubles.

Rusal expects to produce 1.8 million tons of copper in the second half of the year. According to Hodgson, the global aluminum market is facing increasingly tight spot supply driven by demand from the automotive industry. He said that by 2018, global aluminum demand will grow at an average annual rate of 5%, and annual aluminum consumption may reach 66 million tons.

According to the current aluminum price, Rusal expects its core revenue (excluding interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) to exceed US $600 million in the second half of the year.