JSE-listed Hulamin has issued a cautionary announcement to shareholders, indicating that it has entered into negotiations regarding the potential disposal of Hulamin Extrusions. The announcement said: “Shareholders are advised that the Company has entered into negotiations regarding the disposal of Hulamin Extrusions Proprietary Limited, which, if successfully concluded, may have a material effect on the price of the Company’s securities. Accordingly, Shareholders are advised to exercise caution when dealing in the Company’s securities until a detailed announcement is made or the cautionary announcement is withdrawn.”
Hulamin Extrusions was founded 40 years ago by Alcan. Today Hulett Extrusions have production plants in Olifantsfontein, Gauteng and Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal.
Hydro Aluminium Extrusions – one of the world’s leading extruders became a shareholder in the extrusion division during the period 1997 to 2008. In June 2007 Hulamin listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and subsequently Hulett Hydro Extrusions changed its name to Hulamin Extrusions. In 2008 Hulamin acquired the Hydro Aluminium shareholding to become the sole shareholder of Hulamin.
Canbody expansion
In the same announcement which was reporting on Hulamin’s six-month results the company said:
“Our key objective for the first half of the year was to build sufficient finished goods to supply the market during the integrated shutdown, while maintaining profitability and cash flow. Positive momentum from higher volumes and a stronger sales mix was more than offset by the impact of a stronger exchange rate, elevated inflationary energy costs and increased pricing pressure in the local can-end market.”
“We continued to advance our market-driven strategic capital plan, reaching a major milestone with the successful completion and commissioning of the final phase of our wide canbody expansion project aimed at displacing imports. Our next focus is the qualification and commercial readiness of our wide-width products, targeted for the first quarter of 2026. Concurrently, we are working to optimise plant performance to secure strong second-half volumes across our core product streams.”
Hulamin completed the most critical phase of its R500-million capital investment to enhance its canbody stream capacity and capability in July. This final phase, which was the widening of the cold rolling mill, was undertaken during a 25-day integrated plant shutdown.
The investment, which Hulamin initiated in 2022 as part of a strategic reset, aims to capitalise on the growing demand for locally produced cans by reducing reliance on imports and enabling local can makers to improve production efficiencies.
The core of the strategy was to upgrade the plant’s capacity and capability to produce wide-width canbody coils, which are currently imported.
