VALCO Posts $1.4 Million Profit in First Nine Months of 2026 as Value-Added Pivot Pays Off

The Volta Aluminium Company Limited (VALCO) has returned to profitability, recording positive Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) of $1.4 million for the first nine months of 2026, a dramatic turnaround for a state-owned smelter that has teetered on the edge of viability for years.

The company’s revenue for the period ending September 30 rose 13% to $103.85 million, up from $91.78 million in the same period last year, according to figures presented by VALCO Chief Executive Officer Dr. Robert Makila Sambian at the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources’ Progress Series on Tuesday .

The Value-Added Pivot

At the heart of the recovery is VALCO’s first value-addition facility, the Continuous Casting and Rolling (CCR) Electrical Grade Rod Mill, which began commercial operations in August 2026. The plant processes primary liquid aluminium into high-grade electrical rods for domestic industrial use and export to European markets, shifting VALCO’s business model beyond the export of raw primary metal .

“VALCO is no longer merely an exporter of primary metal, we are supplying high-grade electrical rods to power Ghana’s domestic infrastructure while fulfilling export orders for European markets,” Dr. Sambian said. “This commercial strategy strengthens our foreign exchange earnings and underpins our financial recovery” .

The CEO credited the expanded 1:4:4 shift system—assigning four dedicated workers to every role across four rotating shifts—with enabling continuous production at the rod mill. “Operating a continuous casting process requires non-stop precision,” he explained. “This allows us to maintain uninterrupted production, maximize output, eliminate worker fatigue, and directly expand employment opportunities” .

Workforce Growth and Retooling

The operational expansion has lifted VALCO’s workforce from 785 employees in December 2025 to 848 by October 2026. The company projects that full potline restoration and further downstream expansion will increase direct employment to 1,500 while sustaining more than 6,000 indirect jobs nationwide .

VALCO has also undertaken a substantial retooling programme, acquiring 16 lift trucks, two payloaders, two melting furnaces, a centrifuge system, mobile crushing equipment, cranes, and natural gas piping infrastructure. The company has secured 5,000 metric tonnes of imported carbon anodes to support the expansion of its reduction cells toward a target of 150 units. With plant operations stabilised, VALCO expects to close October with 98 active reduction cells online .

A Long Road Back

The profit marks a significant milestone for a company whose history has been defined by repeated shutdowns and restarts. VALCO was established in the early 1960s by Kaiser Aluminium and the Ghana government, with the Akosombo Dam built in part to guarantee its power supply . The smelter was shuttered in 2008 amid power supply constraints and did not begin reoperating at partial capacity until 2011 . As recently as January 2026, VALCO was operating only 122 of its 200 cells, with the CEO acknowledging that reaching 150 cells had “eluded us for more than two decades” .

The company remains under state ownership following Alcoa’s exit in 2008, and the government has been seeking a strategic investor to modernise the facility and construct an alumina refinery to feed it. In November 2025, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources inaugurated an investor selection committee to evaluate proposals for VALCO’s modernisation, with a target of ramping production from 40,000 to at least 200,000 tonnes per year by the end of 2028 and creating a minimum of 6,000 direct jobs .

What’s Next

The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources says it has developed a five-year strategic plan to reposition VALCO, with the first phase focused on optimising existing operations and fully utilising its two-potline capacity. Chief Director Innocent Marcus Haligah told the Progress Series that operational pots had increased from 114 to 200, though he acknowledged significant challenges remain .

For now, the $1.4 million EBITDA represents a modest but symbolically important victory—proof that VALCO can generate positive returns from value-added production even as it awaits the larger investment needed to restore full capacity. Whether the smelter can sustain profitability through commodity price cycles and complete its long-delayed modernisation will determine whether this turnaround proves lasting.