LONDON — Aluminium Bahrain BSC (Alba) is edging closer toward its long-term goal of achieving 70 percent of sales through value-added products (VAP), boosting VAP sales last year even as the company’s total sales slipped.

Alba sold 890,291 tonnes of aluminum in 2012, down 0.3 percent from 893,020 tonnes the previous year. Fourth-quarter sales of 225,739 tonnes were down 0.6 percent from 227,042 tonnes a year earlier.

However, Alba’s full-year VAP sales accounted for about 65 percent of total sales last year, up from 62 percent in 2011. Fourth-quarter VAP sales accounted for 64 percent of total sales, up from 52 percent in the same period in 2011.

"Despite the difficult (London Metal Exchange) market conditions, Alba was able to increase value-added sales to boost its profit margins," chief executive officer Tim Murray said in a statement.

A version of this article was first published by AMM sister publication Metal Bulletin.