By Issah Olegor
The Volta Aluminium Company Limited (VALCO) has reported a significant financial recovery, moving from an operating loss to a positive EBITDA of $1.4 million in the first nine months of 2026, following the introduction of a new value-addition production line and changes to its operational structure.
The performance represents a major improvement from the negative EBITDA of $13.08 million recorded during the corresponding period in 2025, signalling progress in efforts to restore the financial and operational strength of Ghana’s state-owned aluminium smelter.
Figures presented by VALCO Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Robert Makila Sambian, on November 3, 2026, at the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources’ Progress Series, showed that the company generated total revenue of $103.85 million between January and September 2026.
This represents a 13 per cent increase over the $91.78 million recorded during the same period in 2025.
Dr. Sambian attributed the improved performance largely to the commercial operation of VALCO’s first-ever value-addition production line, the Continuous Casting and Rolling (CCR) Electrical Grade Rod Mill.
The facility allows the company to process primary liquid aluminium into high-grade electrical rods, moving beyond the traditional production and export of primary aluminium to the manufacture of products with greater industrial and commercial value.
The rods are supplied to local industries for use in Ghana’s infrastructure and manufacturing sectors, while the company has also secured export orders for European markets.
The development represents a significant shift in VALCO’s production strategy and supports President John Dramani Mahama’s industrial agenda, which places emphasis on domestic processing, value addition and the expansion of local manufacturing capacity.
Speaking on the commercial significance of the new facility, Dr. Sambian said VALCO was positioning itself to serve both domestic and international markets through the production of higher-value aluminium products.
He explained that supplying electrical-grade rods to local industries while meeting export demand would strengthen the company’s revenue base, improve foreign exchange earnings and enhance Ghana’s participation in the global aluminium value chain.
A key part of the operational changes has been the introduction of a 1:4:4 shift system to sustain round-the-clock production at the CCR plant.
Under the arrangement, four personnel are assigned to each operational role across four rotating shifts, allowing the facility to maintain continuous production without interruptions associated with conventional working schedules.
Dr. Sambian said the system was necessary because continuous casting requires consistent monitoring and precision, adding that the arrangement would help maximise output, reduce worker fatigue and improve workplace safety while creating additional employment opportunities.
The new production strategy has also contributed to an expansion in the company’s workforce. VALCO’s employee headcount increased from 785 in December 2025 to 848 by October 2026.
Management is projecting a further increase to 1,500 direct employees when the full restoration of the company’s five potlines is achieved and downstream manufacturing activities are expanded. The company also expects the expansion to sustain more than 6,000 indirect jobs across the country.
To strengthen production capacity and improve the reliability of plant operations, VALCO has embarked on a retooling programme involving the acquisition of new industrial equipment.
The equipment includes 16 lift trucks, two payloaders, two melting furnaces, a centrifuge system, mobile crushing equipment and cranes, alongside the development of natural gas piping infrastructure.
The company has also secured 5,000 metric tonnes of imported carbon anodes, an essential input for aluminium smelting, to support the expansion of its reduction cells.
