Aluar Aluminio Argentino

What it is

Aluar is the only aluminium smelter in Argentina and one of the largest in South America. It covers the full chain: from melting raw metal at its Puerto Madryn plant to finishing rolled sheets, tubes, foils, and profiles at its Abasto facility near Buenos Aires.

The primary division produces around 460,000 tonnes a year, of which roughly 80% is exported; the processed division adds a further 32,000 tonnes sold entirely in the domestic market. A separate division generates and sells electricity, principally from wind and hydro assets the company owns.

Who owns it

The Madanes Quintanilla family controls roughly 77.7% of the company; Argentina’s state pension fund ANSES holds about 9.35%; and the International Finance Corporation (World Bank) holds approximately 1.5%. Insiders as a group hold 45.98% per exchange filings, with institutional investors accounting for under 1% — leaving a free float that is thin by any standard.

Manuel Madanes, the original principal through the FATE holding company, died in 1988; after a probate dispute, Dolores Quintanilla de Madanes acquired control of the group. The family has run it ever since.

Who runs it

Javier Santiago Madanes Quintanilla serves as board President, with Alberto Eduardo Martínez Costa as a principal director — the same Martínez Costa who signed off on exchange filings as recently as 2024. Martín José Levinas holds the title of Executive Vice-President, making him the senior operational executive day to day.

No separate CFO is publicly disclosed in company filings reviewed; financial authority rests with the board and Executive Vice-Presidency.

The money, in plain words

Sales fell about 9% in FY2025 versus FY2024 — from ARS 1.72 trillion (~USD 1.18 billion) to ARS 1.56 trillion (~USD 1.07 billion) — a decline that also compressed profit sharply: net income dropped from ARS 170 billion (~USD 116 million) in FY2024 to just ARS 7.5 billion (~USD 5.1 million) in FY2025 (our calculation). The net profit margin — the share of each peso of sales that ends up as profit — fell to 4.6%, against 9.9% a year earlier.

For every peso owners have invested in the business, it earned about 5.6 cents last year — a return on equity of 5.6%, well below what it earned in FY2024. The company carries a cash pile of roughly ARS 98.9 billion (~USD 67.7 million) and reports no disclosed financial debt on its latest balance sheet (our calculation); that net-cash position is a genuine buffer.

The dividend yield stands at 0.29% — modest, signalling the company is not primarily returning cash to shareholders right now.

What it is doing now

Aluar has begun construction on a 336 MW expansion of its wind farm near Puerto Madryn; the project, valued at USD 400 million, will add 56 Goldwind turbines and lift the park’s total capacity to 582 MW. The current phase underway is Stage II Phase IV.

Aluar also draws power from the Futaleufú hydroelectric plant, a 560 MW facility on the Futaleufú River in Chubut Province where the company holds a 60.2% stake. Together, wind and hydro give Aluar an unusually captive, low-carbon energy supply — critical because energy is the single largest cost in smelting aluminium.

What to watch

• Global aluminium price. Aluar exports about 80% of its primary output, so the London Metal Exchange price matters more to its earnings than anything Buenos Aires does.
• Energy capex payoff. The USD 400 million wind expansion is the largest bet on the table. The additional energy is essential for powering Aluar’s 460,000-tonne-per-year primary smelter; completing it on time and on budget is the key operational test.
• Argentine macro. The company reports in pesos but earns dollars from exports — a natural hedge. Yet a deep domestic recession or further peso devaluation can distort reported margins in either direction.
• Family concentration. With the Madanes Quintanilla family holding nearly 78%, strategic decisions can move fast — but minority shareholders have limited recourse if family interests diverge from theirs.

This is news, not investment advice.