(Business in Cameroon) – Cameroon Aluminum Company (Alucam) continues to struggle with mounting losses. According to the company’s 2024 financial statements reviewed by Business in Cameroon, the company recorded a net loss of 23.7 billion CFA francs, slightly higher than the 23.6 billion CFA francs loss in 2023.
These results extend a long string of deficits for Alucam. The company recorded losses of 23 billion CFA francs in 2019, 14 billion CFA francs in 2020, and 8 billion CFA francs in 2022, after a brief recovery with a 447.9 million CFA francs profit in 2021. This trend has been driven by a contraction in activity and persistent high operating costs.
In 2024, Alucam’s revenue was 94.4 billion CFA francs, a 10% drop from 105.3 billion CFA francs in 2023. “The decrease in turnover is due to the unavailability of the production tool,” the report states. Meanwhile, expenses remain high. Raw material and supply purchases were down 20% to 52.2 billion CFA francs in 2024 from 65.3 billion CFA francs in 2023. Other purchases also fell by 16.8% to 29.6 billion CFA francs from 35.6 billion CFA francs. However, personnel costs remained elevated, at 8.9 billion CFA francs, a slight increase of 1.8% from 8.7 billion CFA francs in 2023.
Plummeting Equity and Risk of Dissolution
Chronic deficits have eroded the company’s equity. “The equity deficit has increased over several years. The financial difficulties the company is experiencing are likely to cast significant doubt on its ability to continue operations,” the auditors’ report notes.
Since 2019, Alucam’s equity has fallen below half of its share capital, and by 2020, it had become negative. Auditors pointed out that under Articles 664 and 665 of the OHADA Uniform Act, the Board of Directors should have called an extraordinary general meeting within four months of the financial statements being approved to decide whether the company should be dissolved. “The extraordinary general meeting convened during the 2020 financial year did not order the dissolution of the company,” the auditors wrote.
Despite an attempt to rebuild equity with an 11 billion CFA francs revaluation surplus in 2022, the deficit spiral continued, reaching 28.3 billion CFA francs in 2023. As of December 31, 2024, the equity deficit stands at 52.2 billion CFA francs. The deadline for the company to recapitalize, set for December 31, 2022, has expired. The auditors have warned of a significant legal risk: “any interested third party could request the dissolution of the company.”
A Bet on a New Investor
To avoid this outcome, Alucam is now betting on a new investor to inject fresh capital. Discussions are underway with several partners, but no conclusion has been announced. “Procedures are still underway to find a new investor who can inject capital and, thereby, a new lease of life into the company,” the report states.
In the meantime, the company is relying on a contract signed in August 2024 with Proalu, which guarantees the purchase of 2,500 tons of raw material per month. This agreement represents about 4 billion CFA francs in monthly revenue, or 48 billion CFA francs annually. “The ‘customer advances’ account has seen a sharp variation due to an advance of 9.85 billion CFA francs paid by Proalu,” the document specifies. This agreement secures a portion of the company’s revenue and provides a lifeline for the historic flagship, once a symbol of Cameroonian industrial modernity, now weakened by a decade of losses.
In a report published in April 2024, the Audit Chamber had already stressed the “imperative” need for a 43 billion CFA francs recapitalization to upgrade production tools and allow Alucam to return to an annual output of 110,000 to 120,000 tons of primary aluminum.
Amina Malloum
