Explanation of relevant opportunities

Copper is one of the most important metallic raw materials. Demand for copper is aligned with global economic growth, especially in the electrical, electronics, construction, and automotive industries. Global trends such as increasing energy scarcity, rising urbanization, the growth of the world’s middle class, digitalization, and electric vehicles will continue to increase not only copper demand in the long term, but also the demand for other metals such as tellurium, nickel, platinum, and palladium. If the economy and the demand for our products develop more favorably than currently expected in the markets relevant to us, this could have a positive influence on the Aurubis Group’s earnings.

The Aurubis Group’s earnings situation is largely determined by the treatment and refining charges for copper concentrates, copper scrap, and recycling materials, as well as by the market prices for our products, such as wire rod, copper cathodes, and sulfuric acid. If treatment and refining charges and market prices for our products develop more positively than currently forecasted, this could positively impact the Aurubis Group’s earnings.

Aurubis is the world’s leading recycler of copper and complex secondary raw materials. In light of the rising importance of resource efficiency with regard to sustainability, we expect demand for recycling solutions to continue growing. This is also supported and promoted by increasingly strict national and international legislation. Thanks to our multi-metal recycling activities and proximity to our copper product customers, we consider ourselves to be in a position to offer expanded closing-the-loop solutions. Should the acquisition of Metallo be approved by the EU Commission for Competition, Aurubis will be able to extend its recycling capabilities even further. If national and international recycling regulations broaden and demand for recycling solutions in our markets grows more strongly than expected, this could positively affect the Aurubis Group’s procurement situation and therefore its earnings.

Both primary and secondary raw materials are becoming increasingly complex in that their copper content is decreasing and the concentrations of accompanying elements and impurities in them are rising. One of Aurubis’ particular strengths is in processing complex primary and secondary raw materials. Going forward, Aurubis will continue to build on this strength and thereby contribute to achieving efficient and resource-friendly production processes for the raw materials of the future. If we build up additional expertise in this area, this could positively influence the Aurubis Group’s earnings.

Our markets are globally competitive. Operating excellence is therefore exceedingly important for us. We continuously work on optimizing our processes and improving our cost position. Furthermore, we are always identifying and implementing means to increase the synergy potential within the network of Aurubis plants. If we go beyond the targets connected to initiated improvement measures, this could have a positive impact on the Aurubis Group’s earnings.

We see additional growth potential in an expansion of our processing capacities in regions with favorable conditions and in proximity to our procurement and sales markets. We will continue investing in our existing sites but will also strive to expand our supplier and production networks further. If we are in a position to expand our capacities even more and, better still, do so with lower capital expenditure than expected, this could positively affect the Aurubis Group’s earnings.

We work closely with our suppliers and customers at all levels of our value chain. This includes developing products for individual customers, providing additional services, processing specific raw materials, and offering additional closing-the-loop solutions. If the demand of our customers and suppliers for our solutions is stronger than forecast, this could have a positive effect on the Aurubis Group’s earnings.

Within the scope of our research and development activities, we work on innovations to create a competitive advantage for ourselves in the future. For example, we are working on more resource-efficient processing of complex material streams in our smelters and refineries.