Glonghui, April 28 | Bank of America Securities published a research report saying that under Chinese corporate accounting standards, China Alcoa's net profit record for the first quarter of this year was 2.23 billion yuan, an increase of 23% year-on-year and 63% quarterly, reaching 25% and 29% of the bank's and market estimates for the full year's net profit forecast. The gross margin for the first quarter reached 14%, increasing production by 6 percentage points year-on-year. Production and sales during the period increased by 16% and 11%, respectively, year-on-year. According to industry data obtained by Bank of America, the average profit of the industry in the first quarter of this year was 2,323 yuan per ton, an increase of 1,400 yuan; alumina profit was 477 yuan per ton, an increase of 222 yuan over the year. It is expected that the first quarter of this year will benefit from rising alumina prices and lower aluminum production costs than the market. Due to rising aluminum prices and falling coal prices, the average profit of aluminum continued to rise in April. Bank of America Securities expects that the profit performance of China Alcoa will improve further in the second quarter. Currently, it predicts that aluminum and alumina prices will reach 19,500 and 3,200 yuan per ton in 2024. They remain optimistic about aluminum prices, maintain a “buy” rating for aluminum, and are optimistic that it can become an industry leader, with a target price of HK$6.