UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington D.C. 20549

 

Form 10-K

 

 

Commission file number 001-32312

 

Novelis Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

(404) 814-4200

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

None

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

None

 

Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933.  Yes o     No þ

 

Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”).  Yes o     No þ

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.  Yes þ     No o

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).  Yes o     No o

 

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (Section 229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of Registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  o

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

 

(Do not check if a smaller reporting company)

 

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).  Yes o     No þ

 

As of May 31, 2009, the registrant had 77,459,658 common shares outstanding. All of the Registrant’s outstanding shares were held indirectly by Hindalco Industries Ltd., the Registrant’s parent company.

 

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

None

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

This document contains forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about the industry in which we operate, and beliefs and assumptions made by our management. Such statements include, in particular, statements about our plans, strategies and prospects under the headings “Item 1. Business,” “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” Words such as “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “seek,” “estimate” and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Examples of forward-looking statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K include, but are not limited to, our expectations with respect to the impact of metal price movements on our financial performance; our metal price ceiling exposure; the effectiveness of our hedging programs and controls; and our future borrowing availability. These statements are based on beliefs and assumptions of Novelis’ management, which in turn are based on currently available information. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve assumptions and risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed, implied or forecasted in such forward-looking statements. We do not intend, and we disclaim any obligation, to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

 

This document also contains information concerning our markets and products generally, which is forward-looking in nature and is based on a variety of assumptions regarding the ways in which these markets and product categories will develop. These assumptions have been derived from information currently available to us and to the third party industry analysts quoted herein. This information includes, but is not limited to, product shipments and share of production. Actual market results may differ from those predicted. We do not know what impact any of these differences may have on our business, our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flow. Factors that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ from the results expressed or implied by forward-looking statements include, among other things:

 

 

 

The above list of factors is not exhaustive. These and other factors are discussed in more detail under “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

 

In this Annual Report on Form 10-K, unless otherwise specified, the terms “we,” “our,” “us,” “Company,” “Novelis” and “Novelis Group” refer to Novelis Inc., a company incorporated in Canada under the Canadian Business Corporations Act (CBCA) and its subsidiaries. References herein to “Hindalco” refer to Hindalco Industries Limited. In October 2007, Rio Tinto Group purchased all of the outstanding shares of Alcan, Inc. References herein to “Alcan” refer to Rio Tinto Alcan Inc.

 

Exchange Rate Data

 

We prepare our financial statements in United States (U.S.) dollars. As of December 31, 2008, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York ceased the practice of maintaining and publishing historical exchange rates. From December 31, 2008 onward, we used the CitiFX Benchmark, published by Citibank, for exchange rate information published as of 16:00 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) (11:00 A.M. Eastern Standard Time).

 

The following table sets forth exchange rate information expressed in terms of Canadian dollars per U.S. dollar at the noon buying rate in New York City for cable transfers in foreign currencies as certified for customs purposes by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. As noted above, the year ended March 31, 2009 includes exchange data from Citibank as of 16:00 GMT. The rates set forth below may differ from the actual rates used in our accounting processes and in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.

 

 

 

 

All dollar figures herein are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated.

 

Commonly Referenced Data

 

As used in this Annual Report, “total shipments” refers to shipments to third parties of aluminum rolled products as well as ingot shipments, and references to “aluminum rolled products shipments” or “shipments” do not include ingot shipments. All tonnages are stated in metric tonnes. One metric tonne is equivalent to 2,204.6 pounds. One kilotonne (kt) is 1,000 metric tonnes. The term “aluminum rolled products” is synonymous with the terms “flat rolled products” and “FRP” commonly used by manufacturers and third party analysts in our industry.

 

 

Overview

 

We are the world’s leading aluminum rolled products producer based on shipment volume in fiscal 2009, with total shipments of approximately 2,943 kt in fiscal 2009. We are the only company of our size and scope focused solely on aluminum rolled products markets and capable of local supply of technologically sophisticated aluminum products in all of these geographic regions. We are also the global leader in the recycling of used aluminum beverage cans. We had net sales of approximately $10.2 billion for the year ended March 31, 2009.

 

Organization and Description of Business

 

Novelis Inc., formed in Canada on September 21, 2004, and its subsidiaries, is the world’s leading aluminum rolled products producer based on shipment volume. We produce aluminum sheet and light gauge products for end-use markets including construction and industrial, beverage and food cans, foil products and transportation markets. As of March 31, 2009, we had operations in 11 countries on four continents: North America; South America; Asia; and Europe, through 32 operating plants, one research facility and several market-focused innovation centers. In addition to aluminum rolling and recycling, our South American businesses include bauxite mining, alumina refining, primary aluminum smelting and power generation facilities that are integrated with our rolling plants in Brazil.

 

On May 18, 2004, Alcan announced its intention to transfer its rolled products businesses into a separate company and to pursue a spin-off of that company to its shareholders. The spin-off occurred on January 6, 2005, following approval by Alcan’s board of directors and shareholders, and legal and regulatory approvals. Alcan shareholders received one Novelis common share for every five Alcan common shares held.

 

Acquisition of Novelis Common Stock and Predecessor and Successor Reporting

 

On May 15, 2007, the Company was acquired by Hindalco through its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary pursuant to a plan of arrangement (the Arrangement) at a price of $44.93 per share. The aggregate purchase price for all of the Company’s common shares was $3.4 billion and Hindalco also assumed $2.8 billion of Novelis’ debt for a total transaction value of $6.2 billion. Subsequent to completion of the Arrangement on May 15, 2007, all of our common shares were indirectly held by Hindalco.

 

Our acquisition by Hindalco was recorded in accordance with Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 103, Push Down Basis of Accounting Required in Certain Limited Circumstances (SAB 103). In the accompanying consolidated balance sheets, the consideration and related costs paid by Hindalco in connection with the acquisition have been “pushed down” to us and have been allocated to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Statement No. 141, Business Combinations (FASB 141). Due to the impact of push down accounting, the Company’s consolidated financial statements and certain note presentations separate the Company’s presentation into two distinct periods to indicate the application of two different bases of accounting between the periods presented: (1) the period up to, and including, the May 15, 2007 acquisition date (labeled “Predecessor”) and (2) the period after that date (labeled “Successor”). The accompanying consolidated financial statements include a black line division which indicates that the Predecessor and Successor reporting entities shown are not comparable.

 

Change in Fiscal Year End

 

On June 26, 2007, our board of directors approved the change of our fiscal year end to March 31 from December 31. On June 28, 2007, we filed a Transition Report on Form 10-Q for the three month period ended March 31, 2007 with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) pursuant to Rule 13a-10 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for transition period reporting. Accordingly, these consolidated financial statements present our financial position as of March 31, 2009 and 2008, and the results of our

operations, cash flows and changes in shareholder’s equity for the year ended March 31, 2009, the periods from May 16, 2007 through March 31, 2008 and from April 1, 2007 through May 15, 2007, the three months ended March 31, 2007 and the year ended December 31, 2006.

 

Our Industry

 

The aluminum rolled products market represents the global supply of and demand for aluminum sheet, plate and foil produced either from sheet ingot or continuously cast roll-stock in rolling mills operated by independent aluminum rolled products producers and integrated aluminum companies alike.

 

Aluminum rolled products are semi-finished aluminum products that constitute the raw material for the manufacture of finished goods ranging from automotive body panels to household foil. There are two major types of manufacturing processes for aluminum rolled products differing mainly in the process used to achieve the initial stage of processing:

 

 

Both processes require subsequent rolling, which we call cold rolling, and finishing steps such as annealing, coating, leveling or slitting to achieve the desired thicknesses and metal properties. Most customers receive shipments in the form of aluminum coil, a large roll of metal, which can be fed into their fabrication processes.

 

There are two sources of input material: (1) primary aluminum, such as molten metal, re-melt ingot and sheet ingot; and (2) recycled aluminum, such as recyclable material from fabrication processes, which we refer to as recycled process material, used beverage cans (UBCs) and other post-consumer aluminum.

 

Primary aluminum can generally be purchased at prices set on the London Metal Exchange (LME), plus a premium that varies by geographic region of delivery, form (ingot or molten metal) and purity.

 

Recycled aluminum is also an important source of input material. Aluminum is infinitely recyclable and recycling it requires only approximately 5% of the energy needed to produce primary aluminum. As a result, in regions where aluminum is widely used, manufacturers and customers are active in setting up collection processes in which UBCs and other recyclable aluminum are collected for re-melting at purpose-built plants. Manufacturers may also enter into agreements with customers who return recycled process material and pay to have it re-melted and rolled into the same product again.

 

There has been a long-term industry trend towards lighter gauge (thinner) rolled products, which we refer to as “downgauging,” where customers request products with similar properties using less metal in order to reduce costs and weight. For example, aluminum rolled products producers and can fabricators have continuously developed thinner walled cans with similar strength as previous generation containers, resulting in a lower cost per unit. As a result of this trend, aluminum tonnage across the spectrum of aluminum rolled products, and particularly for the beverage and food cans end-use market, has declined on a per unit basis, but actual rolling machine hours per unit have increased. Because the industry has historically tracked growth based on aluminum tonnage shipped, we believe the downgauging trend may contribute to an understatement of the actual growth of revenue attributable to rolling in some end-use markets.

 

End-use Markets

 

Aluminum rolled products companies produce and sell a wide range of aluminum rolled products, which can be grouped into four end-use markets based upon similarities in end-use applications: (1) beverage and food cans; (2) construction and industrial; (3) foil products and (4) transportation. Within each end-use market, aluminum rolled products are manufactured with a variety of alloy mixtures; a range of tempers (hardness), gauges (thickness) and widths; and various coatings and finishes. Large customers typically have customized needs resulting in the development of close relationships with their supplying mills and close technical development relationships.

 

Beverage and Food Cans.  Beverage cans are the single largest aluminum rolled products application, accounting for approximately 23% of total worldwide shipments in the calendar year ended December 31,

2008, according to market data from Commodity Research Unit International Limited (CRU), an independent business analysis and consultancy group focused on the mining, metals, power, cables, fertilizer and chemical sectors. Beverage and food cans is also our largest end-use market, making up 56% and 51% of total shipments for the years ended March 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively. The recyclability of aluminum cans enables them to be used, collected, melted and returned to the original product form many times, unlike steel, paper or polyethylene terephthalate plastic (PET plastic), which deteriorate with every iteration of recycling. Aluminum beverage cans also offer advantages in fabricating efficiency and product shelf life. Fabricators are able to produce and fill beverage cans at very high speeds, and non-porous aluminum cans provide longer shelf life than PET plastic containers. Aluminum cans are light, stackable and use space efficiently, making them convenient and cost efficient to ship.

 

Downgauging and changes in can design help to reduce total costs on a per can basis and contribute to making aluminum more competitive with substitute materials.

 

Beverage can sheet is sold in coil form for the production of can bodies, ends and tabs. The material can be ordered as rolled, degreased, pre-lubricated, pre-treated and/or lacquered. Typically, can makers define their own specifications for material to be delivered in terms of alloy, gauge, width and surface finish.

 

Other applications in this end-use market include food cans and screw caps for the beverage industry.

 

Construction and Industrial.  Construction is the largest application within this end-use market. Aluminum rolled products developed for the construction industry are often decorative and non-flammable, offer insulating properties, are durable and corrosion resistant, and have a high strength-to-weight ratio. Aluminum siding, gutters, and downspouts comprise a significant amount of construction volume. Other applications include doors, windows, awnings, canopies, facades, roofing and ceilings.

 

Aluminum’s ability to conduct electricity and heat and to offer corrosion resistance makes it useful in a wide variety of electronic and industrial applications. Industrial applications include electronics and communications equipment, process and electrical machinery and lighting fixtures. Uses of aluminum rolled products in consumer durables include microwaves, coffee makers, flat screen televisions, air conditioners, pleasure boats and cooking utensils.

 

Another industrial application is lithographic sheet. Print shops, printing houses and publishing groups use lithographic sheet to print books, magazines, newspapers and promotional literature. In order to meet the strict quality requirements of the end-users, lithographic sheet must meet demanding metallurgical, surface and flatness specifications.

 

Foil Products.  Aluminum, because of its relatively light weight, recyclability and formability, has a wide variety of uses in packaging. Converter foil is very thin aluminum foil, plain or printed, that is typically laminated to plastic or paper to form an internal seal for a variety of packaging applications, including juice boxes, pharmaceuticals, food pouches, cigarette packaging and lid stock. Customers order coils of converter foil in a range of thicknesses from 6 microns to 60 microns.

 

Household foil includes home and institutional aluminum foil wrap sold as a branded or generic product. Known in the industry as packaging foil, it is manufactured in thicknesses ranging from 11 microns to 23 microns. Container foil is used to produce semi-rigid containers such as pie plates and take-out food trays and is usually ordered in a range of thicknesses ranging from 60 microns to 200 microns.

 

Transportation.  Heat exchangers, such as radiators and air conditioners, are an important application for aluminum rolled products in the truck and automobile categories of the transportation end-use market. Original equipment manufacturers (OEM) also use aluminum sheet with specially treated surfaces and other specific properties for interior and exterior applications. Newly developed alloys are being used in transportation tanks and rigid containers that allow for safer and more economical transportation of hazardous and corrosive materials.

 

There has been recent growth in certain geographic markets in the use of aluminum rolled products in automotive body panel applications, including hoods, deck lids, fenders and lift gates. These uses typically result from co-operative efforts between aluminum rolled products manufacturers and their customers that yield tailor-made solutions for specific requirements in alloy selection, fabrication procedure, surface quality

and joining. We believe the recent growth in automotive body panel applications is due in part to the lighter weight, better fuel economy and improved emissions performance associated with these applications.

 

Aluminum rolled products are also used in aerospace applications, a segment of the transportation market in which we are not allowed to compete until January 6, 2010, pursuant to a non-competition agreement we entered into with Alcan in connection with the spin-off, as described under the heading “Business — Arrangements Between Novelis and Alcan — Non-competition.” However, aerospace-related consumption of aluminum rolled products has historically represented a relatively small portion of total aluminum rolled products market shipments.

 

Aluminum is also used in the construction of ships’ hulls and superstructures and passenger rail cars because of its strength, light weight, formability and corrosion resistance.

 

Market Structure

 

The aluminum rolled products industry is characterized by economies of scale, significant capital investments required to achieve and maintain technological capabilities and demanding customer qualification standards. The service and efficiency demands of large customers have encouraged consolidation among suppliers of aluminum rolled products.

 

While our customers tend to be increasingly global, many aluminum rolled products tend to be produced and sold on a regional basis. The regional nature of the markets is influenced in part by the fact that not all mills are equipped to produce all types of aluminum rolled products. For instance, only a few mills in North America, Europe, Asia, and only one mill in South America produce beverage can body and end stock. In addition, individual aluminum rolling mills generally supply a limited range of products for end-use applications, and seek to maximize profits by producing high volumes of the highest margin mix per mill hour given available capacity and equipment capabilities.

 

Certain multi-purpose, common alloy and plate rolled products are imported into Europe and North America from producers in emerging markets, such as Brazil, South Africa, Russia and China. However, at this time we believe that most of these producers are generally unable to produce flat rolled products that meet the quality requirements, lead times and specifications of customers with more demanding applications. In addition, high freight costs, import duties, inability to take back recycled aluminum, lack of technical service capabilities and long lead-times mean that many developing market exporters are viewed as second-tier suppliers. Therefore, many of our customers in the Americas, Europe and Asia do not look to suppliers in these emerging markets for a significant portion of their requirements.

 

Competition

 

The aluminum rolled products market is highly competitive. We face competition from a number of companies in all of the geographic regions and end-use markets in which we operate. Our primary competitors are as follows:

 

 

The factors influencing competition vary by region and end-use market, but generally we compete on the basis of our value proposition, including price, product quality, the ability to meet customers’ specifications, range of products offered, lead times, technical support and customer service. In some end-use markets, competition is also affected by fabricators’ requirements that suppliers complete a qualification process to supply their plants. This process can be rigorous and may take many months to complete. As a result, obtaining business from these customers can be a lengthy and expensive process. However, the ability to obtain and maintain these qualifications can represent a competitive advantage.

 

In addition to competition from others within the aluminum rolled products industry, we, as well as the other aluminum rolled products manufacturers, face competition from non-aluminum material producers, as fabricators and end-users have, in the past, demonstrated a willingness to substitute other materials for aluminum. In the beverage and food cans end-use market, aluminum rolled products’ primary competitors are glass, PET plastic, and in some regions, steel. In the transportation end-use market, aluminum rolled products compete mainly with steel and composites. Aluminum competes with wood, plastic, cement and steel in building products applications. Factors affecting competition with substitute materials include price, ease of manufacture, consumer preference and performance characteristics.

 

Key Factors Affecting Supply and Demand

 

The following factors have historically affected the supply of aluminum rolled products:

 

Production Capacity.  As in most manufacturing industries with high fixed costs, production capacity has the largest impact on supply in the aluminum rolled products industry. In the aluminum rolled products industry, the addition of production capacity requires large capital investments and significant plant construction or expansion, and typically requires long lead-time equipment orders.

 

Alternative Technology.  Advances in technological capabilities allow aluminum rolled products producers to better align product portfolio and supply with industry demand. As an example, continuous casting offers the ability to increase capacity in smaller increments than is possible with hot mill additions. This enables production capacity to better adjust to small year-over-year increases in demand. However, the continuous casting process results in the production of a more limited range of products.

 

Trade.  Some trade flows do occur between regions despite shipping costs, import duties and the need for localized customer support. Higher value-added, specialty products such as lithographic sheet and some foils are more likely to be traded internationally, especially if demand in certain markets exceeds local supply. With respect to less technically demanding applications, emerging markets with low cost inputs may export commodity aluminum rolled products to larger, more mature markets. Accordingly, regional changes in supply, such as plant expansions, may have some effect on the worldwide supply of commodity aluminum rolled products.

 

The following factors have historically affected the demand for aluminum rolled products:

 

Economic Growth.  We believe that economic growth is currently the single largest driver of aluminum rolled products demand. In mature markets, growth in demand has typically correlated closely with growth in industrial production. In emerging markets such as China, growth in demand typically exceeds industrial production growth largely because of expanding infrastructures, capital investments and rising incomes that often accompany economic growth in these markets.

 

Substitution Trends.  Manufacturers’ willingness to substitute other materials for aluminum in their products and competition from substitution materials suppliers also affect demand. For example, in North America, competition from PET plastic containers and glass bottles, and changes in marketing channels and consumer preferences in beverage containers, have, in recent years, reduced the growth rate of aluminum can sheet in North America from the high rates experienced in the 1970s and 1980s. Historically, despite changes in consumer preferences, North American aluminum beverage can shipments have remained at approximately 100 billion cans per year since 1994 according to the Can Manufacturers Institute. For the calendar year ended December 31, 2008, North American aluminum beverage can

shipments have declined by approximately 2.8% to 97.4 billion cans mainly due to a decline in carbonated soft drinks.

 

Downgauging.  Increasing technological and asset sophistication has enabled aluminum rolling companies to offer consistent or even improved product strength using less material, providing customers with a more cost-effective product. This continuing trend reduces raw material requirements, but also effectively increases rolled products’ plant utilization rates and reduces available capacity, because to produce the same number of units requires more rolling hours to achieve thinner gauges. As utilization rates increase, revenues rise as pricing tends to be based on machine hours used rather than on the volume of material rolled. On balance, we believe that downgauging has maintained or enhanced overall market economics for both users and producers of aluminum rolled products.

 

Seasonality.  While demand for certain aluminum rolled products is affected by seasonal factors, such as increases in consumption of beer and soft drinks packaged in aluminum cans and the use of aluminum sheet used in the construction and industrial end-use market during summer months, our presence in both the northern and southern hemispheres tends to dampen the impact of seasonality on our business.

 

Our Business Strategy

 

Our primary objective is to deliver value by being the most innovative and profitable aluminum rolled products company in the world. We intend to achieve this objective through the following areas of focus:

 

Expand our global leadership position in can sheet, automotive sheet and recycling

 

 

Grow our premium product portfolio

 

 

Drive constant improvement in our operations as a globally integrated company

 

 

Our Operating Segments

 

Due in part to the regional nature of supply and demand of aluminum rolled products and in order to best serve our customers, we manage our activities on the basis of geographical areas and are organized under four operating segments: North America; Europe; Asia and South America. The following is a description of our operating segments:

 

 

 

The table below shows Net sales and total shipments by segments as a percentage of our consolidated Net sales and consolidated total shipments (all amounts in millions, except shipments, which are in kt). For additional financial information related to our operating segments, see Note 21 — Segment, Geographical Area and Major Customer Information in the accompanying consolidated financial statements.

 

 

 

 

We have highly automated, flexible and advanced manufacturing capabilities in operating facilities around the globe. In addition to the aluminum rolled products plants, our South America segment operates bauxite mining, alumina refining, hydro-electric power plants and smelting facilities. We believe our facilities have the assets required for efficient production and are well managed and maintained. For a further discussion of financial information by geographic area, refer to Note 21 — Segment, Geographical Area and Major Customer Information to our consolidated financial statements.

 

North America

 

Through 11 aluminum rolled products facilities, including two fully dedicated recycling facilities as of March 31, 2009, North America manufactures aluminum sheet and light gauge products. Important end-use

applications for this segment include beverage cans, containers and packaging, automotive and other transportation applications, building products and other industrial applications.

 

The majority of North America’s efforts are directed towards the beverage can sheet market. The beverage can end-use application is technically demanding to supply and pricing is competitive. We believe we have a competitive advantage in this market due to our low-cost and technologically advanced manufacturing facilities and technical support capability. Recycling is important in the manufacturing process and we have five facilities in North America that re-melt post-consumer aluminum and recycled process material. Most of the recycled material is from used beverage cans and the material is cast into sheet ingot for North America’s two can sheet production plants (at Logan, Kentucky and Oswego, New York).

 

In June 2008, we closed our Louisville, Kentucky plant where we produced light gauge converter foil products.

 

Europe

 

Europe produces value-added sheet and foil products through 14 operating plants as of March 31, 2009, including one recycling facility.

 

Europe serves a broad range of aluminum rolled product end-use applications including: construction and industrial; beverage and food can; foil and technical products; lithographic; automotive and other. Beverage and food represent the largest end-use market in terms of shipment volume by Europe.

 

Europe also has foil packaging facilities at six locations, and in addition to rolled product plants, has distribution centers in Italy and France together with sales offices in several European countries. In April 2009, we closed the distribution center in France.

 

In March 2009, we announced the closure of our aluminum sheet mill in Rogerstone, South Wales, U.K. The facility ceased operations in April 2009.

 

Asia

 

Asia operates three manufacturing facilities as of March 31, 2009 and manufactures a broad range of sheet and light gauge products. End-use applications include beverage and food cans, foil, electronics and construction and industrial products. The beverage can market represents the largest end-use application in terms of volume. Recycling is an important part of our Korean operations with recycling facilities at both the Ulsan and Yeongju facilities.

 

We believe that Asia is well-positioned to benefit from further economic development in China as well as other parts of Asia.

 

South America

 

South America operates two rolling plants, two primary aluminum smelters, and hydro-electric power plants as of March 31, 2009, all of which are located in Brazil. South America manufactures various aluminum rolled products, including can stock, automotive and industrial sheet and light gauge for the beverage and food can, construction and industrial and transportation and packaging end-use markets. More than 80% of our shipments for the past two years were in the beverage and food can market.

 

The primary aluminum operations in South America include a mine, refinery and smelters used by our Brazilian aluminum rolled products operations, with any excess production being sold on the market in the form of aluminum billets. South America generates a portion of its own power requirements.

 

In May 2009, we ceased the production of alumina at our Ouro Preto facility in Brazil.

 

Raw Materials and Suppliers

 

The raw materials that we use in manufacturing include primary aluminum, recycled aluminum, sheet ingot, alloying elements and grain refiners. Our smelters also use alumina, caustic soda and calcined petroleum

coke and resin. These raw materials are generally available from several sources and are not generally subject to supply constraints under normal market conditions. We also consume considerable amounts of energy in the operation of our facilities.

 

Aluminum

 

We obtain aluminum from a number of sources, including the following:

 

Primary Aluminum Sourcing.  We purchased or tolled approximately 1,820 kt of primary aluminum in fiscal 2009 in the form of sheet ingot, standard ingot and molten metal, as quoted on the London Metal Exchange (LME), approximately 41% of which we purchased from Rio Tinto Alcan. Following our spin-off from Alcan, we have continued to purchase aluminum from Alcan pursuant to the metal supply agreements described under “Item 1. Arrangements Between Novelis and Alcan.” Our primary aluminum contracts with Alcan were renegotiated and the amended agreements took effect on January 1, 2008.

 

Primary Aluminum Production.  We produced approximately 103 kt of our own primary aluminum requirements in fiscal 2009 through our smelter and related facilities in Brazil.

 

Recycled Aluminum Products.  We operate facilities in several plants to recycle post-consumer aluminum, such as UBCs collected through recycling programs. In addition, we have agreements with several of our large customers where we take recycled processed material from their fabricating activity and re-melt, cast and roll it to re-supply them with aluminum sheet. Other sources of recycled material include lithographic plates, where over 90% of aluminum used is recycled, and products with longer lifespans, like cars and buildings, which are just starting to become high volume sources of recycled material. We purchased or tolled approximately 1,025 kt of recycled material inputs in fiscal 2009.

 

The majority of recycled material we re-melt is directed back through can-stock plants. The net effect of these activities in terms of total shipments of rolled products is that approximately 32% of our aluminum rolled products production for fiscal 2009 was made with recycled material.

 

Energy

 

We use several sources of energy in the manufacture and delivery of our aluminum rolled products. In fiscal 2009, natural gas and electricity represented approximately 89% of our energy consumption by cost. We also use fuel oil and transport fuel. The majority of energy usage occurs at our casting centers, at our smelters in South America and during the hot rolling of aluminum. Our cold rolling facilities require relatively less energy. We purchase our natural gas on the open market, which subjects us to market pricing fluctuations. We have in the past and may continue to seek to stabilize our future exposure to natural gas prices through the purchase of derivative instruments. Natural gas prices in Europe, Asia and South America have historically been more stable than in the United States.

 

A portion of our electricity requirements are purchased pursuant to long-term contracts in the local regions in which we operate. A number of our facilities are located in regions with regulated prices, which affords relatively stable costs.

 

Our South America segment has its own hydroelectric facilities that meet approximately 25% of its total electricity requirements for smelting operations. As a result of supply constraints, electricity prices in South America have been volatile, with spot prices increasing dramatically. We have a mixture of self-generated electricity, long term fixed contracts and shorter term semi-variable contracts. Although spot prices have returned to normal levels, we may continue to face challenges renewing our South American energy supply contracts at effective rates to enable profitable operation of our full smelter capacity.

 

Others

 

We also have bauxite and alumina requirements. We will satisfy some of our alumina requirements for the near term pursuant to the alumina supply agreement we have entered into with Alcan as discussed below under “Item 1. Arrangements Between Novelis and Alcan.”

Our Customers

 

Although we provide products to a wide variety of customers in each of the markets that we serve, we have experienced consolidation trends among our customers in many of our key end-use markets. In fiscal 2009, approximately 45% of our total net sales were to our ten largest customers, most of whom we have been supplying for more than 20 years. To address consolidation trends, we focus significant efforts at developing and maintaining close working relationships with our customers and end-users. Our major customers include:

 

 

In our single largest end-use market, beverage can sheet, we sell directly to beverage makers and bottlers as well as to can fabricators that sell the cans they produce to bottlers. In certain cases, we also operate under umbrella agreements with beverage makers and bottlers under which they direct their can fabricators to source their requirements for beverage can body, end and tab stock from us. Among these umbrella agreements is an agreement, referred to as the CC agreement, with several North American bottlers of Coca-Cola branded products, including Coca-Cola Bottlers’ Sales and Services. Under the CC agreement, we shipped approximately 352 kt of beverage can sheet (including tolled metal) during fiscal 2009. These shipments were made to, and we received payment from, our direct customers, being the beverage can fabricators that sell beverage cans to the Coca-Cola associated bottlers. Under the CC agreement, bottlers in the Coca-Cola system may join the CC agreement by committing a specified percentage of the can sheet required by their can fabricators to us.

 

Purchases by Rexam Plc and its affiliates represented approximately 17%, 15%, 14%, 16%, and 14% of our total net sales for the year ended March 31, 2009, the period from May 16, 2007 through March 31, 2008; the period from April 1, 2007 through May 15, 2007; the three months ended March 31, 2007; and the year ended December 31, 2006, respectively.

 

Distribution and Backlog

 

We have two principal distribution channels for the end-use markets in which we operate: direct sales and distributors. Approximately 93%, 90%, 91%, 89%, and 87% of our total net sales were derived from direct sales to our customers and approximately 7%, 10%, 9%, 11%, and 13% of our total net sales were derived from distributors for the year ended March 31, 2009, the period from May 16, 2007 through March 31, 2008; the period from April 1, 2007 through May 15, 2007; the three months ended March 31, 2007; and the year ended December 31, 2006, respectively.

 

Direct Sales

 

We supply various end-use markets all over the world through a direct sales force that operates from individual plants or sales offices, as well as from regional sales offices in 21 countries. The direct sales channel typically involves very large, sophisticated fabricators and original equipment manufacturers. Longstanding relationships are maintained with leading companies in industries that use aluminum rolled products. Supply contracts for large global customers generally range from one to five years in length and historically there has been a high degree of renewal business with these customers. Given the customized nature of products and in some cases, large order sizes, switching costs are significant, thus adding to the overall consistency of the customer base.

We also use third party agents or traders in some regions to complement our own sales force. They provide service to our customers in countries where we do not have local expertise. We tend to use third party agents in Asia more frequently than in other regions.

 

Distributors

 

We also sell our products through aluminum distributors, particularly in North America and Europe. Customers of distributors are widely dispersed, and sales through this channel are highly fragmented. Distributors sell mostly commodity or less specialized products into many end-use markets in small quantities, including the construction and industrial and transportation markets. We collaborate with our distributors to develop new end-use applications and improve the supply chain and order efficiencies.

 

Backlog

 

We believe that order backlog is not a material aspect of our business.

 

Research and Development

 

The table below summarizes our research and development expense in our plants and modern research facilities, which included mini-scale production lines equipped with hot mills, can lines and continuous casters (in millions).

 

 

We conduct research and development activities at our plants in order to satisfy current and future customer requirements, improve our products and reduce our conversion costs. Our customers work closely with our research and development professionals to improve their production processes and market options. We have approximately 200 employees dedicated to research and development, located in many of our plants and research center.

 

Our Employees

 

As of March 31, 2009, we had approximately 12,300 employees. Approximately 5,800 are employed in Europe, approximately 3,000 are employed in North America, approximately 1,500 are employed in Asia and approximately 2,000 are employed in South America and other areas. Approximately 70% of our employees are represented by labor unions and their employment conditions are governed by collective bargaining agreements. Collective bargaining agreements are negotiated on a site, regional or national level, and are of different durations. We believe that we have good labor relations in all our operations and have not experienced a significant labor stoppage in any of our principal operations during the last decade.

 

Intellectual Property

 

In connection with our spin-off, Alcan has assigned or licensed to us a number of important patents, trademarks and other intellectual property rights owned or previously owned by Alcan and required for our business. Ownership of certain intellectual property that is used by both us and Alcan is owned by one of us, and licensed to the other. Certain specific intellectual property rights, which have been determined to be exclusively useful to us or which were required to be transferred to us for regulatory reasons, have been assigned to us with no license back to Alcan.

 

We actively review intellectual property arising from our operations and our research and development activities and, when appropriate, we apply for patents in the appropriate jurisdictions, including the United States and Canada. We currently hold patents and patent applications on approximately 190 different items of

intellectual property. While these patents and patent applications are important to our business on an aggregate basis, no single patent or patent application is deemed to be material to our business.

 

We have applied for or received registrations for the “Novelis” word trademark and the Novelis logo trademark in approximately 50 countries where we have significant sales or operations. Novelis uses the Aditya Birla Rising Sun logo under license from Aditya Birla Management Corporation Private Limited.

 

We have also registered the word “Novelis” and several derivations thereof as domain names in numerous top level domains around the world to protect our presence on the World Wide Web.

 

Environment, Health and Safety

 

We own and operate numerous manufacturing and other facilities in various countries around the world. Our operations are subject to environmental laws and regulations from various jurisdictions, which govern, among other things, air emissions, wastewater discharges, the handling, storage and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes, the remediation of contaminated sites, post-mining reclamation and restoration of natural resources, and employee health and safety. Future environmental regulations may be expected to impose stricter compliance requirements on the industries in which we operate. Additional equipment or process changes at some of our facilities may be needed to meet future requirements. The cost of meeting these requirements may be significant. Failure to comply with such laws and regulations could subject us to administrative, civil or criminal penalties, obligations to pay damages or other costs, and injunctions and other orders, including orders to cease operations.

 

We are involved in proceedings under the U.S. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, also known as CERCLA or Superfund, or analogous state provisions regarding our liability arising from the usage, storage, treatment or disposal of hazardous substances and wastes at a number of sites in the United States, as well as similar proceedings under the laws and regulations of the other jurisdictions in which we have operations, including Brazil and certain countries in the European Union. Many of these jurisdictions have laws that impose joint and several liability, without regard to fault or the legality of the original conduct, for the costs of environmental remediation, natural resource damages, third party claims, and other expenses. In addition, we are, from time to time, subject to environmental reviews and investigations by relevant governmental authorities.

 

We have established procedures for regularly evaluating environmental loss contingencies, including those arising from environmental reviews and investigations and any other environmental remediation or compliance matters. We believe we have a reasonable basis for evaluating these environmental loss contingencies, and we also believe we have made reasonable estimates for the costs that are likely to be ultimately borne by us for these environmental loss contingencies. Accordingly, we have established reserves based on our reasonable estimates for the currently anticipated costs associated with these environmental matters. Management has determined that the currently anticipated costs associated with these environmental matters will not, individually or in the aggregate, materially impair our operations or materially adversely affect our financial condition.

 

We expect that our total expenditures for capital improvements regarding environmental control facilities for the year ending March 31, 2010 will be approximately $12 million.

 

Arrangements Between Novelis and Alcan

 

In connection with our spin-off from Alcan, we entered into a number of ancillary agreements with Alcan governing certain terms of our spin-off as well as various aspects of our relationship with Alcan following the spin-off. These ancillary agreements include:

 

Transitional Services and Similar Agreements.  Pursuant to a collection of approximately 130 individual transitional services agreements, Alcan has provided to us and we have provided to Alcan, as applicable, on an interim, transitional basis, various services, including, but not limited to, treasury administration, selected benefits administration functions, employee compensation and information technology services. The agreed upon charges for these services generally allow us or Alcan, as

applicable, to recover fully the allocated costs of providing the services, plus all out-of-pocket costs and expenses plus a margin of five percent. No margin is added to the cost of services supplied by external suppliers. The majority of the individual service agreements, which began on the spin-off date, terminated on or prior to December 31, 2005. However, we had a continuing agreement with Alcan through 2008 to use certain information technology hosting services to support our financial accounting systems for the Nachterstedt and Goettingen plants.

 

Metal Supply Agreements.  We and Alcan have entered into four multi-year metal supply agreements pursuant to which Alcan supplies us with specified quantities of re-melt ingot, molten metal and sheet ingot in North America and Europe on terms and conditions determined primarily by Alcan. We believe these agreements provide us with the ability to cover some metal requirements through a pricing formula pursuant to our spin-off agreement with Alcan. In addition, an ingot supply agreement in effect between Alcan and Novelis Korea Ltd. prior to the spin-off remains in effect following the spin-off.

 

On February 26, 2008, we and Alcan agreed to amend and restate four existing multi-year metal supply agreements, which took effect as of January 1, 2008.

 

The amended and restated metal supply agreement for the supply of re-melt aluminum ingot amends and restates the supply agreement dated January 5, 2005 between the parties. This amended agreement extends the term, establishes an annual quantity of remelt ingot to be supplied and purchased subject to adjustment, establishes certain delivery requirements, changes certain pricing provisions, and revises certain payment terms, among other standard terms and conditions.

 

The amended and restated molten metal supply agreement for the supply of molten metal to the Company’s Saguenay Works Facility amends and restates the supply agreement dated January 5, 2005 between the parties. This amended agreement changes certain pricing provisions, and revises certain payment terms, among other standard terms and conditions.

 

The amended and restated metal supply agreement for the supply of sheet ingot in North America amends and restates the supply agreement dated January 5, 2005 between the parties. This amended agreement extends the term, establishes an annual quantity of sheet ingot to be supplied and purchased subject to adjustment, changes certain pricing provisions, and revises certain payment terms, among other standard terms and conditions.

 

The amended and restated metal supply agreement for the supply of sheet ingot in Europe amends and restates the supply agreement dated January 5, 2005 between the parties. This amended agreement extends the term, establishes an annual quantity of sheet ingot to be supplied and purchased subject to adjustment, and changes certain pricing provisions, among other standard terms and conditions.

 

Foil Supply Agreements.  In 2005, we entered into foil supply agreements with Alcan for the supply of foil from our facilities located in Norf, Ludenscheid and Ohle, Germany to Alcan’s packaging facility located in Rorschach, Switzerland as well as from our facilities located in Utinga, Brazil to Alcan’s packaging facility located in Maua, Brazil. These agreements are for five-year terms during the course of which we will supply specified percentages of Alcan’s requirements for its facilities described above (in the case of Alcan’s Rorschach facility, 94% in 2006, 93% in 2007, 92% in 2008 and 90% in 2009, and in the case of Alcan’s Maua facility, 70%). In addition, we will continue to supply certain of Alcan’s European operations with foil under the terms of two agreements that were in effect prior to the spin-off.

 

Alumina Supply Agreements.  We have entered into a ten-year alumina supply agreement with Alcan pursuant to which we purchase from Alcan, and Alcan supplies to us, alumina for our primary aluminum smelter located in Aratu, Brazil. The annual quantity of alumina to be supplied under this agreement is between 85 kt and 126 kt. In addition, an alumina supply agreement between Alcan and Novelis Deutschland GmbH that was in effect prior to the spin-off remains in effect following the spin-off.

Available Information

 

We are subject to the reporting and information requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (Exchange Act) and, as a result, we file periodic reports and other information with the SEC. We make these filings available on our website free of charge, the URL of which is http://www.novelis.com, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. The SEC maintains a website (http://www.sec.gov) that contains our annual, quarterly and current reports and other information we file electronically with the SEC. You can read and copy any materials we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1850, Washington, D.C. 20549. You may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. Information on our website does not constitute part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

 

Risks Related to our Business and the Market Environment

 

Economic conditions could continue to materially adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, and liquidity.

 

Our financial condition and results of operations depend significantly on worldwide economic conditions. These economic conditions have recently deteriorated significantly in many countries and regions in which we do business, and may remain depressed for the foreseeable future. Uncertainty about current global economic conditions poses a risk as our customers may postpone purchases in response to tighter credit and negative financial news, which could adversely impact demand for our products. These and other economic factors have, and may continue to have, a significant impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

 

The current financial turmoil affecting the banking system and financial markets and the possibility that additional financial institutions may consolidate or go out of business has resulted in a tightening in the credit markets, a low level of liquidity in many financial markets, and extreme volatility in fixed income, credit, currency and equity markets. There could be a number of follow-on effects from the credit crisis on our business, including the insolvency of key suppliers or their inability to obtain credit to finance development and/or manufacture products resulting in product delays and the inability of customers to purchase our products or pay for products they have already received. If conditions become more severe or continue longer than we anticipate, or if we are unable to adequately respond to unforeseeable changes in demand resulting from economic conditions, our financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.

 

The deterioration of global economic conditions combined with rapidly declining aluminum prices from a peak of $3,292 per tonne in July 2008 to $1,365 per tonne on March 31, 2009 have placed pressure on our short-term liquidity. In the near term, our forecast indicates our liquidity position will be tight, but adequate as we settle outstanding derivative positions. However, our liquidity needs could increase due to the unpredictability of current market conditions and their potential effect on customer credit, future derivative settlements, future sales volume, our credit, or other matters. As a result, management has undertaken a number of activities to generate cash in the near term as well as implement changes in our cost structure that will benefit our liquidity in the long-term.

 

In addition, we use various derivative instruments to manage the risks arising from fluctuations in exchange rates, interest rates, aluminum prices and energy prices. The current financial turmoil affecting the banking system and financial markets could affect whether the counterparties to our derivative instruments are able to honor their agreements. We may be exposed to losses in the future if the counterparties to our derivative instruments fail to honor their agreements. Our maximum potential loss may exceed the amount recognized in the accompanying March 31, 2009 consolidated balance sheet.

Certain of our customers are significant to our revenues, and we could be adversely affected by changes in the business or financial condition of these significant customers or by the loss of their business.

 

Our ten largest customers accounted for approximately 45%, 45%, 47%, 43% and 43% of our total net sales for the year ended March 31, 2009; the period from May 16, 2007 through March 31, 2008; the period from April 1, 2007 to May 15, 2007; the three months ended March 31, 2007; and the year ended December 31, 2006, respectively, with Rexam Plc and its affiliates representing approximately 17%, 15%, 14%, 16% and 14% of our total net sales in the respective periods. A significant downturn in the business or financial condition of our significant customers could materially adversely affect our results of operations or cash flows. In addition, if our existing relationships with significant customers materially deteriorate or are terminated in the future, and we are not successful in replacing business lost from such customers, our results of operations or cash flows could be adversely affected. Some of the longer term contracts under which we supply our customers, including under umbrella agreements such as those described under “Item 1. Business — Our Customers,” are subject to renewal, renegotiation or re-pricing at periodic intervals or upon changes in competitive supply conditions. Our failure to successfully renew, renegotiate or re-price such agreements could result in a reduction or loss in customer purchase volume or revenue, and if we are not successful in replacing business lost from such customers, our results of operations or cash flows could be adversely affected. The markets in which we operate are competitive and customers may seek to consolidate supplier relationships or change suppliers to obtain cost savings and other benefits.

 

Our profitability or cash flows could be adversely affected by our inability to pass through metal price increases due to metal price ceilings in certain of our sales contracts.

 

Prices for metal are volatile, have been impacted by recent structural changes in the market, and may increase from time to time. Nearly all of our products have a price structure with two components: (i) a pass-through aluminum price based on the LME plus local market premiums and (ii) a “conversion premium” price based on the conversion cost to produce the rolled product and the competitive market conditions for that product. Sales contracts representing 257 kt and 300 kt of our fiscal 2009 and 2008 shipments, respectively, contained a ceiling over which metal prices could not be contractually passed through to certain customers, unless adjusted. This negatively impacted our margins and operating cash flows when the price we paid for metal was above the ceiling price contained in these contracts. We calculate and report this difference to be approximately the difference between the quoted purchase price on the LME (adjusted for any local premiums and for any price lag associated with purchasing or processing time) and the metal price ceiling in our contracts. Cash flows from operations are negatively impacted by the same amounts, adjusted for any timing difference between customer receipts and vendor payments, and offset partially by reduced income taxes.

 

During the years ended March 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, we were unable to pass through approximately $176 million, $230 million and $460 million, respectively, of metal purchase costs associated with sales under these contracts. As a result of falling LME prices and based on a March 31, 2009 aluminum price of $1,365 per tonne, there is no unfavorable revenue or cash flow impact estimated through December 31, 2009 when these contracts expire. However, if metal prices increase above the metal price ceiling, our margins and operating cash flows will be negatively impacted.

 

Our efforts to mitigate the risk of rising metal prices may not be effective.

 

We employ the following strategies to manage and mitigate the risk associated with metal price ceilings and rising prices that we cannot pass through to certain customers:

 

 

Our results and cash flows can be negatively impacted by timing differences between the prices we pay under purchase contracts and metal prices we charge our customers.

 

In some of our contracts there is a timing difference between the metal prices we pay under our purchase contracts and the metal prices we charge our customers. As a result, changes in metal prices impact our results, since during such periods we bear the additional cost or benefit of metal price changes, which could have a material effect on our profitability and cash flows.

 

Our operations consume energy and our profitability or cash flows may decline if energy costs were to rise, or if our energy supplies were interrupted.

 

We consume substantial amounts of energy in our rolling operations, our cast house operations and our Brazilian smelting operations. The factors that affect our energy costs and supply reliability tend to be specific to each of our facilities. A number of factors could materially adversely affect our energy position including:

 

 

If energy costs were to rise, or if energy supplies or supply arrangements were disrupted, our profitability or cash flows could decline.

 

We may not have sufficient cash to repay indebtedness and we may be limited in our ability to access financing for future capital requirements, which may prevent us from increasing our manufacturing capability, improving our technology or addressing any gaps in our product offerings.

 

Although historically our cash flow from operations has been sufficient to repay indebtedness, satisfy working capital requirements and fund capital expenditure and research and development requirements, in the future we may need to incur additional debt or issue equity in order to fund these requirements as well as to make acquisitions and other investments. To the extent we are unable to raise new capital, we may be unable to increase our manufacturing capability, improve our technology or address any gaps in our product offerings. If we raise funds through the issuance of debt or equity, any debt securities or preferred shares issued may have rights and preferences and privileges senior to those of our common shares. The terms of the debt securities may impose restrictions on our operations that have an adverse impact on our financial condition.

 

Our substantial indebtedness could adversely affect our business and therefore make it more difficult for us to fulfill our obligations under our Credit Agreements and our Senior Notes.

 

On July 6, 2007, we entered into new senior secured credit facilities (Credit Agreements) providing for aggregate borrowings of up to $1.76 billion. The Credit Agreements consist of (1) a $960 million seven-year Term Loan facility (Term Loan facility) and (2) an $800 million five year multi-currency asset-based revolving credit line and letter of credit facility (ABL facility). As of March 31, 2009, we had total indebtedness of $2.8 billion, including our $1.1 billion of senior unsecured debt securities (Senior Notes) (excluding unamortized fair value adjustments recorded as a result of the Arrangement). Our substantial indebtedness and

interest expense could have important consequences to our Company and holders of our Senior Notes, including:

 

 

The covenants in our Credit Agreements and the indenture governing our Senior Notes impose significant operating and financial restrictions on us.

 

The Credit Agreements and the indenture governing the Senior Notes impose significant operating and financial restrictions on us. These restrictions limit our ability and the ability of our restricted subsidiaries, among other things, to:

 

 

The Credit Agreements also contains various affirmative covenants, with which we are required to comply.

 

Although we currently expect to comply with these covenants, we may be unable to comply with these covenants in the future. If we do not comply with these covenants and are unable to obtain waivers from our lenders, we would be unable to make additional borrowings under these facilities, our indebtedness under these agreements would be in default and could be accelerated by our lenders and could cause a cross-default under our other indebtedness, including our Senior Notes. If our indebtedness is accelerated, we may not be able to repay our indebtedness or borrow sufficient funds to refinance it. In addition, if we incur additional debt in the future, we may be subject to additional covenants, which may be more restrictive than those that we are subject to now.

 

A deterioration of our financial position or a downgrade of our ratings by a credit rating agency could increase our borrowing costs and our business relationships could be adversely affected.

 

A deterioration of our financial position or a downgrade of our ratings for any reason could increase our borrowing costs and have an adverse effect on our business relationships with customers, suppliers and hedging counterparties. From time to time, we enter into various forms of hedging activities against currency or metal price fluctuations and trade metal contracts on the LME. Financial strength and credit ratings are important to the availability and pricing of these hedging and trading activities. As a result, any downgrade of our credit ratings may make it more costly for us to engage in these activities, and changes to our level of indebtedness may make it more difficult or costly for us to engage in these activities in the future.

 

Adverse changes in currency exchange rates could negatively affect our financial results or cash flows and the competitiveness of our aluminum rolled products relative to other materials.

 

Our businesses and operations are exposed to the effects of changes in the exchange rates of the U.S. dollar, the euro, the British pound, the Brazilian real, the Canadian dollar, the Korean won and other currencies. We have implemented a hedging policy that attempts to manage currency exchange rate risks to an acceptable level based on our management’s judgment of the appropriate trade-off between risk, opportunity and cost; however, this hedging policy may not successfully or completely eliminate the effects of currency exchange rate fluctuations which could have a material adverse effect on our financial results or cash flows.

 

We prepare our consolidated financial statements in U.S. dollars, but a portion of our earnings and expenditures are denominated in other currencies, primarily the euro, the Korean won and the Brazilian real. Changes in exchange rates will result in increases or decreases in our reported costs and earnings, and may also affect the book value of our assets located outside the U.S.

 

Most of our facilities are staffed by a unionized workforce, and union disputes and other employee relations issues could materially adversely affect our financial results.

 

Approximately 70% of our employees are represented by labor unions under a large number of collective bargaining agreements with varying durations and expiration dates. We may not be able to satisfactorily renegotiate our collective bargaining agreements when they expire. In addition, existing collective bargaining agreements may not prevent a strike or work stoppage at our facilities in the future, and any such work stoppage could have a material adverse effect on our financial results.

 

Our operations have been and will continue to be exposed to various business and other risks, changes in conditions and events beyond our control in countries where we have operations or sell products.

 

We are, and will continue to be, subject to financial, political, economic and business risks in connection with our global operations. We have made investments and carry on production activities in various emerging markets, including Brazil, Korea and Malaysia, and we market our products in these countries, as well as China and certain other countries in Asia, the Middle East and emerging markets in South America. While we anticipate higher growth or attractive production opportunities from these emerging markets, they also present a higher degree of risk than more developed markets. In addition to the business risks inherent in developing and servicing new markets, economic conditions may be more volatile, legal and regulatory systems less developed and predictable, and the possibility of various types of adverse governmental action more pronounced. In addition, inflation, fluctuations in currency and interest rates, competitive factors, civil unrest and labor problems could affect our revenues, expenses and results of operations. Our operations could also be adversely affected by acts of war, terrorism or the threat of any of these events as well as government actions such as controls on imports, exports and prices, tariffs, new forms of taxation, or changes in fiscal regimes and increased government regulation in the countries in which we operate or service customers. Unexpected or uncontrollable events or circumstances in any of these markets could have a material adverse effect on our financial results or cash flows.

 

We could be adversely affected by disruptions of our operations.

 

Breakdown of equipment or other events, including catastrophic events such as war or natural disasters, leading to production interruptions in our plants could have a material adverse effect on our financial results or cash flows. Further, because many of our customers are, to varying degrees, dependent on planned deliveries from our plants, those customers that have to reschedule their own production due to our missed deliveries could pursue financial claims against us. We may incur costs to correct any of these problems, in addition to facing claims from customers. Further, our reputation among actual and potential customers may be harmed, resulting in a loss of business. While we maintain insurance policies covering, among other things, physical damage, business interruptions and product liability, these policies may not cover all of our losses.

 

We may not be able to successfully develop and implement new technology initiatives in a timely manner.

 

We have invested in, and are involved with, a number of technology and process initiatives. Several technical aspects of these initiatives are still unproven and the eventual commercial outcomes cannot be assessed with any certainty. Even if we are successful with these initiatives, we may not be able to deploy them in a timely fashion. Accordingly, the costs and benefits from our investments in new technologies and the consequent effects on our financial results may vary from present expectations.

 

If we fail to establish and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, we may have material misstatements in our financial statements and we may not be able to report our financial results in a timely manner.

 

In conjunction with this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2009 and under the authorization and direction of our Audit Committee, management has assessed the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of March 31, 2009 and determined that a material weakness relating to the application of purchase accounting for an equity method investee including related income tax accounts has been identified.

 

Loss of our key management and other personnel, or an inability to attract such management and other personnel, could adversely impact our business.

 

We depend on our senior executive officers and other key personnel to run our business. The loss of any of these officers or other key personnel could materially adversely affect our operations. Competition for qualified employees among companies that rely heavily on engineering and technology is intense, and the loss of qualified employees or an inability to attract, retain and motivate additional highly skilled employees required for the operation and expansion of our business could hinder our ability to improve manufacturing operations, conduct research activities successfully and develop marketable products.

 

Past and future acquisitions or divestitures may adversely affect our financial condition.

 

Historically, we have grown partly through the acquisition of other businesses, including businesses acquired by Alcan in its 2000 acquisition of the Alusuisse Group Ltd. and its 2003 acquisition of Pechiney, both of which were integrated aluminum companies. As part of our strategy for growth, we may continue to pursue acquisitions, divestitures or strategic alliances, which may not be completed or, if completed, may not be ultimately beneficial to us. There are numerous risks commonly encountered in business combinations, including the risk that we may not be able to complete a transaction that has been announced, effectively integrate businesses acquired or generate the cost savings and synergies anticipated. Failure to do so could have a material adverse effect on our financial results.

 

We could be required to make unexpected contributions to our defined benefit pension plans as a result of adverse changes in interest rates and the capital markets.

 

Most of our pension obligations relate to funded defined benefit pension plans for our employees in the U.S., the U.K. and Canada, unfunded pension benefits in Germany, and lump sum indemnities payable to our employees in France, Italy, Korea and Malaysia upon retirement or termination. Our pension plan assets

consist primarily of funds invested in listed stocks and bonds. Our estimates of liabilities and expenses for pensions and other postretirement benefits incorporate a number of assumptions, including expected long-term rates of return on plan assets and interest rates used to discount future benefits. Our results of operations, liquidity or shareholders’ equity in a particular period could be adversely affected by capital market returns that are less than their assumed long-term rate of return or a decline of the rate used to discount future benefits.

 

If the assets of our pension plans do not achieve assumed investment returns for any period, such deficiency could result in one or more charges against our earnings for that period. In addition, changing economic conditions, poor pension investment returns or other factors may require us to make unexpected cash contributions to the pension plans in the future, preventing the use of such cash for other purposes.

 

We face risks relating to certain joint ventures and subsidiaries that we do not entirely control. Our ability to generate cash from these entities may be more restricted than if such entities were wholly-owned subsidiaries.

 

Some of our activities are, and will in the future be, conducted through entities that we do not entirely control or wholly own. These entities include our Norf, Germany and Logan, Kentucky joint ventures, as well as our majority-owned Korean and Malaysian subsidiaries. Our Malaysian subsidiary is a public company whose shares are listed for trading on the Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad. Under the governing documents or agreements of securities laws applicable to or stock exchange listing rules relative to certain of these joint ventures and subsidiaries, our ability to fully control certain operational matters may be limited. In addition, we do not solely determine certain key matters, such as the timing and amount of cash distributions from these entities. As a result, our ability to generate cash from these entities may be more restricted than if they were wholly-owned entities.

 

We have supply agreements with Alcan for a portion of our raw materials requirements. If Alcan is unable to deliver sufficient quantities of these materials or if it terminates these agreements, our ability to manufacture products on a timely basis could be adversely affected.

 

The manufacture of our products requires sheet ingot that has historically been, in part, supplied by Alcan. For the year ended March 31, 2009, we purchased the majority of our third party sheet ingot requirements from Alcan’s primary metal group. In connection with the spin-off, we entered into metal supply agreements with Alcan upon terms and conditions substantially similar to market terms and conditions for the continued purchase of sheet ingot from Alcan, which were amended in March 2008. If Alcan is unable to deliver sufficient quantities of this material on a timely basis or if Alcan terminates one or more of these agreements, our production may be disrupted and our net sales, profitability and cash flows could be materially adversely affected. Although aluminum is traded on the world markets, developing alternative suppliers for that portion of our raw material requirements we expect to be supplied by Alcan could be time consuming and expensive.

 

Our continuous casting operations at our Saguenay Works, Canada facility depend upon a local supply of molten aluminum from Alcan. For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2009, Alcan’s primary metal group supplied 863 kt of such material to us, representing approximately 20% of the molten aluminum used at Saguenay Works. In connection with the spin-off, we entered into a metal supply agreement on terms determined primarily by Alcan for the continued purchase of molten aluminum from Alcan. If this supply were to be disrupted, our Saguenay Works production could be interrupted and our net sales, profitability and cash flows materially adversely affected.

 

We may lose key rights if a change in control of our voting shares were to occur.

 

Our separation agreement with Alcan provides that if we experience a change in control in our voting shares during the five years following the spin-off and if the entity acquiring control does not refrain from using the Novelis assets to compete against Alcan in the plate and aerospace products markets, Alcan may terminate any or all of certain agreements we currently have with Alcan. Hindalco delivered the requisite

non-compete agreement to Alcan on June 14, 2007, following its acquisition of our common shares. However, if Hindalco were to sell its controlling interest in Novelis before January 6, 2010, a new acquirer would be required to provide a similar agreement.

 

The termination of any of these agreements could deprive any potential acquirer of certain services, resources or rights necessary to the conduct of our business. Replacement of these assets could be difficult or impossible, resulting in a material adverse effect on our business operations, net sales, profitability and cash flows. In addition, the potential termination of these agreements could prevent us from entering into future business transactions such as acquisitions or joint ventures at terms favorable to us or at all.

 

Our agreement not to compete with Alcan in certain end-use markets may hinder our ability to take advantage of new business opportunities.

 

In connection with the spin-off, we agreed not to compete with Alcan for a period of five years from the spin-off date in the manufacture, production and sale of certain products for use in the plate and aerospace markets. As a result, it may be more difficult for us to pursue successfully new business opportunities, which could limit our potential sources of revenue and growth.

 

Risks Related to Our Industry

 

We face significant price and other forms of competition from other aluminum rolled products producers, which could hurt our results of operations or cash flows.

 

Generally, the markets in which we operate are highly competitive. We compete primarily on the basis of our value proposition, including price, product quality, ability to meet customers’ specifications, range of products offered, lead times, technical support and customer service. Some of our competitors may benefit from greater capital resources, have more efficient technologies, or have lower raw material and energy costs and may be able to sustain longer periods of price competition.

 

In addition, our competitive position within the global aluminum rolled products industry may be affected by, among other things, the recent trend toward consolidation among our competitors, exchange rate fluctuations that may make our products less competitive in relation to the products of companies based in other countries (despite the U.S. dollar-based input cost and the marginal costs of shipping) and economies of scale in purchasing, production and sales, which accrue to the benefit of some of our competitors.

 

Increased competition could cause a reduction in our shipment volumes and profitability or increase our expenditures, either of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial results or cash flows.

 

The end-use markets for certain of our products are highly competitive and customers are willing to accept substitutes for our products.

 

The end-use markets for certain aluminum rolled products are highly competitive. Aluminum competes with other materials, such as steel, plastics, composite materials and glass, among others, for various applications, including in beverage and food cans and automotive end-use applications. In the past, customers have demonstrated a willingness to substitute other materials for aluminum. For example, changes in consumer preferences in beverage containers have increased the use of polyethylene terephthalate plastic (PET plastic) containers and glass bottles in recent years. These trends may continue. The willingness of customers to accept substitutes for aluminum products could have a material adverse effect on our financial results or cash flows.

 

A downturn in the economy could have a material adverse effect on our financial results or cash flows.

 

Certain end-use applications for aluminum rolled products, such as construction and industrial and transportation applications, experience demand cycles that are highly correlated to the general economic environment, which is sensitive to a number of factors outside our control. A recession or a slowing of the economy in any of the geographic segments in which we operate, including China where significant economic growth is expected, or a decrease in manufacturing activity in industries such as automotive, construction and packaging and consumer goods, could have a material adverse effect on our financial results or cash flows. We

are not able to predict the timing, extent and duration of the economic cycles in the markets in which we operate.

 

The seasonal nature of some of our customers’ industries could have a material adverse effect on our financial results or cash flows.

 

The construction industry and the consumption of beer and soda are sensitive to weather conditions and as a result, demand for aluminum rolled products in the construction industry and for can feedstock can be seasonal. Our quarterly financial results could fluctuate as a result of climatic changes, and a prolonged series of cold summers in the different regions in which we conduct our business could have a material adverse effect on our financial results or cash flows.

 

We are subject to a broad range of environmental, health and safety laws and regulations in the jurisdictions in which we operate, and we may be exposed to substantial environmental, health and safety costs and liabilities.

 

We are subject to a broad range of environmental, health and safety laws and regulations in the jurisdictions in which we operate. These laws and regulations impose increasingly stringent environmental, health and safety protection standards and permitting requirements regarding, among other things, air emissions, wastewater storage, treatment and discharges, the use and handling of hazardous or toxic materials, waste disposal practices, the remediation of environmental contamination, post-mining reclamation and working conditions for our employees. Some environmental laws, such as Superfund and comparable laws in U.S. states and other jurisdictions worldwide, impose joint and several liability for the cost of environmental remediation, natural resource damages, third party claims, and other expenses, without regard to the fault or the legality of the original conduct.

 

The costs of complying with these laws and regulations, including participation in assessments and remediation of contaminated sites and installation of pollution control facilities, have been, and in the future could be, significant. In addition, these laws and regulations may also result in substantial environmental liabilities associated with divested assets, third party locations and past activities. In certain instances, these costs and liabilities, as well as related action to be taken by us, could be accelerated or increased if we were to close, divest of or change the principal use of certain facilities with respect to which we may have environmental liabilities or remediation obligations. Currently, we are involved in a number of compliance efforts, remediation activities and legal proceedings concerning environmental matters, including certain activities and proceedings arising under Superfund and comparable laws in U.S. states and other jurisdictions worldwide.

 

We have established reserves for environmental remediation activities and liabilities where appropriate. However, the cost of addressing environmental matters (including the timing of any charges related thereto) cannot be predicted with certainty, and these reserves may not ultimately be adequate, especially in light of potential changes in environmental conditions, changing interpretations of laws and regulations by regulators and courts, the discovery of previously unknown environmental conditions, the risk of governmental orders to carry out additional compliance on certain sites not initially included in remediation in progress, our potential liability to remediate sites for which provisions have not been previously established and the adoption of more stringent environmental laws. Such future developments could result in increased environmental costs and liabilities and could require significant capital expenditures, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results or cash flows. Furthermore, the failure to comply with our obligations under the environmental laws and regulations could subject us to administrative, civil or criminal penalties, obligations to pay damages or other costs, and injunctions or other orders, including orders to cease operations. In addition, the presence of environmental contamination at our properties could adversely affect our ability to sell property, receive full value for a property or use a property as collateral for a loan.

 

Some of our current and potential operations are located or could be located in or near communities that may regard such operations as having a detrimental effect on their social and economic circumstances.

Environmental laws typically provide for participation in permitting decisions, site remediation decisions and other matters. Concern about environmental justice issues may affect our operations. Should such community objections be presented to government officials, the consequences of such a development may have a material adverse impact upon the profitability or, in extreme cases, the viability of an operation. In addition, such developments may adversely affect our ability to expand or enter into new operations in such location or elsewhere and may also have an effect on the cost of our environmental remediation projects.

 

We use a variety of hazardous materials and chemicals in our rolling processes, as well as in our smelting operations in Brazil and in connection with maintenance work on our manufacturing facilities. Because of the nature of these substances or related residues, we may be liable for certain costs, including, among others, costs for health-related claims or removal or re-treatment of such substances. Certain of our current and former facilities incorporate asbestos-containing materials, a hazardous substance that has been the subject of health-related claims for occupation exposure. In addition, although we have developed environmental, health and safety programs for our employees, including measures to reduce employee exposure to hazardous substances, and conduct regular assessments at our facilities, we are currently, and in the future may be, involved in claims and litigation filed on behalf of persons alleging injury predominantly as a result of occupational exposure to substances or other hazards at our current or former facilities. It is not possible to predict the ultimate outcome of these claims and lawsuits due to the unpredictable nature of personal injury litigation. If these claims and lawsuits, individually or in the aggregate, were finally resolved against us, our results of operations and cash flows could be adversely affected.

 

We may be exposed to significant legal proceedings or investigations.

 

From time to time, we are involved in, or the subject of, disputes, proceedings and investigations with respect to a variety of matters, including environmental, health and safety, product liability, employee, tax, personal injury, contractual and other matters as well as other disputes and proceedings that arise in the ordinary course of business. Certain of these matters are discussed in the preceding risk factor and certain others are discussed below under “Item 3. Legal Proceedings.” Any claims against us or any investigations involving us, whether meritorious or not, could be costly to defend or comply with and could divert management’s attention as well as operational resources. Any such dispute, litigation or investigation, whether currently pending or threatened or in the future, may have a material adverse effect on our financial results and cash flows.

 

Product liability claims against us could result in significant costs or negatively impact our reputation and could adversely affect our business results and financial condition.

 

We are sometimes exposed to warranty and product liability claims. There can be no assurance that we will not experience material product liability losses arising from such claims in the future and that these will not have a negative impact on our net sales and profitability. We generally maintain insurance against many product liability risks, but there can be no assurance that this coverage will be adequate for any liabilities ultimately incurred. In addition, there is no assurance that insurance will continue to be available on terms acceptable to us. A successful claim that exceeds our available insurance coverage could have a material adverse effect on our financial results and cash flows.

 

 

None.

 

Our executive offices are located in Atlanta, Georgia. We have 32 operating facilities, one research facility and several market-focused innovation centers in 11 countries as of March 31, 2009. We believe our facilities are generally well-maintained and in good operating condition and have adequate capacity to meet our current business needs. Our principal properties and assets have been pledged to banks pursuant to our senior secured credit facilities, as described in “Description of Material Indebtedness.”

 

The following tables provide information, by operating segment, about the plant locations, processes and major end-use markets/applications for the aluminum rolled products, recycling and primary metal facilities we operated during all or part of the year ended March 31, 2009.

 

North America

 

 

 

 

Our Oswego, New York facility operates modern equipment for used beverage can recycling, ingot casting, hot rolling, cold rolling and finishing. In March 2006, we commenced commercial production using our Novelis Fusion^tm technology — able to produce a high quality ingot with a core of one aluminum alloy, combined with one or more layers of different aluminum alloy(s). The ingot can then be rolled into a sheet product with different properties on the inside and the outside, allowing previously unattainable performance for flat rolled products and creating opportunity for new, premium applications. Oswego produces can stock as well as building and industrial products. Oswego also provides feedstock to our Kingston, Ontario facility, which produces heat-treated automotive sheet, and to our Fairmont, West Virginia facility, which produces light gauge sheet.

 

The Logan, Kentucky facility is a processing joint venture between us and Arco Aluminum Inc. (ARCO), a subsidiary of BP plc. Our equity investment in the joint venture is 40%, while ARCO holds the remaining 60% interest. Subsequent equipment investments have resulted in us now having access to approximately 64% of Logan’s total production capacity. Logan, which was built in 1985, is the newest and largest hot mill in North America. Logan operates modern and high-speed equipment for ingot casting, hot-rolling, cold-rolling and finishing. Logan is a dedicated manufacturer of aluminum sheet products for the can stock market with modern equipment, an efficient workforce and product focus. A portion of the can end stock is coated at North America’s Warren, Ohio facility, in addition to Logan’s on-site coating assets. Together with ARCO, we

operate Logan as a production cooperative, with each party supplying its own primary metal inputs for transformation at the facility. The transformed product is then returned to the supplying party at cost. Logan does not own any of the primary metal inputs or any of the transformed products. All of the fixed assets at Logan are directly owned by us and ARCO in varying ownership percentages or solely by each party. As discussed in Note 1 — Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies in the accompanying consolidated financial statements, our consolidated balance sheets include our share of the assets and liabilities of Logan.

 

We share control of the management of Logan with ARCO through a seven-member board of directors on which we appoint four members and ARCO appoints three members. Management of Logan is led jointly by two executive officers who are subject to approval by at least five members of the board of directors.

 

Our Saguenay, Quebec facility operates the world’s largest continuous caster, which produces feedstock for our two foil rolling plants located in Terre Haute, Indiana; and Fairmont, West Virginia. The continuous caster was developed through internal research and development and we own the process technology. Our Saguenay facility sources molten metal under long-term supply arrangements we have with Alcan.

 

In June 2008, we completed the closure of our light gauge converter products facility in Louisville, Kentucky. The closure was intended to bring the capacity of our North American operations in line with local market demand.

 

Our Burnaby, British Columbia and Toronto, Ontario facilities spool and package household foil products and report to our foil business unit based in Toronto, Ontario.

 

Along with our recycling center in Oswego, New York, we own two other fully dedicated recycling facilities in North America, located in Berea, Kentucky and Greensboro, Georgia. Each offers a modern, cost-efficient process to recycle used beverage cans and other recycled aluminum into sheet ingot to supply our hot mills in Logan and Oswego. Berea is the largest used beverage can recycling facility in the world.

 

Europe

 

 

 

 

 

Aluminium Norf GmbH (Norf) in Germany, a 50/50 production-sharing joint venture between us and Hydro, is a large scale, modern manufacturing hub for several of our operations in Europe, and is the largest aluminum rolling mill and remelting operation in the world. Norf supplies hot coil for further processing through cold rolling to some of our other plants, including Goettingen and Nachterstedt in Germany and provides foilstock to our plants in Ohle and Ludenscheid in Germany and Rugles in France. Together with Hydro, we operate Norf as a production cooperative, with each party supplying its own primary metal inputs for transformation at the facility. The transformed product is then transferred back to the supplying party on a pre-determined cost-plus basis. The facility’s capacity is shared 50/50. We own 50% of the equity interest in Norf and Hydro owns the other 50%. We share control of the management of Norf with Hydro through a jointly-controlled shareholders’ committee. Management of Norf is led jointly by two managing executives, one nominated by us and one nominated by Hydro.

 

In March 2009, management approved the closure of our aluminum sheet mill in Rogerstone, South Wales, U.K. The facility ceased operations in April 2009. The Rogerstone mill in the United Kingdom supplied Bridgnorth and other foil plants with foilstock and produced hot coil for Nachterstedt and Pieve. In addition, Rogerstone produced standard sheet and coil for the European distributor market.

 

The Pieve plant, located near Milan, Italy, mainly produces continuous cast coil that is cold rolled into paintstock and sent to the Bresso plant for painting and some specialist finishing. Goettingen also has a paint line as well as lines for can end, food and lithographic sheet.

 

The Dudelange and Rugles foil plants in Luxembourg and France utilize continuous twin roll casting equipment and are two of the few foil plants in the world capable of producing 6 micron foil for aseptic packaging applications from continuous cast material. The Sierre hot rolling plant in Switzerland, along with Nachterstedt in Germany, are Europe’s leading producers of automotive sheet in terms of shipments. Sierre also supplies plate stock to Alcan. In April 2008, we announced the commissioning of a new aluminum casthouse in Sierre and began producing multi-alloy sheet ingots in the plant using Novelis Fusion^tm in August 2008.

 

Our recycling operation in Latchford, United Kingdom is the only major recycling plant in Europe dedicated to used beverage cans.

 

European operations also include Novelis PAE in Voreppe, France, which sells casthouse technology, including liquid metal treatment devices, such as degassers and filters, chill sheet ingot casters and twin roll continuous casters, in many parts of the world.

 

Asia

 

 

 

 

Our Korean subsidiary, in which we hold a 68% interest, was formed through acquisitions in 1999 and 2000. Since our acquisitions, product capability has been developed to address higher value and more technically advanced markets such as can sheet.

 

We hold a 58% equity interest in the Aluminium Company of Malaysia Berhad, a publicly traded company that wholly owns and controls the Bukit Raja, Selangor light gauge rolling facility.

 

Unlike our production sharing joint ventures at Norf, Germany and Logan, Kentucky, our Korean partners are financial partners and we market 100% of the plants’ output.

 

Asia also operates recycling furnaces at both its Ulsan and Yeongju facilities in Korea for the conversion of customer and third party recycled aluminum, including used beverage cans. Metal from recycled aluminum purchases represented 4% of Asia’s total shipments in fiscal 2009. In June 2008, our plant in Ulsan began the commercial production of Novelis Fusion^tm.

 

South America

 

 

 

 

Our Pindamonhangaba (Pinda) rolling and recycling facility in Brazil has an integrated process that includes recycling, sheet ingot casting, hot mill and cold mill operations. A leased coating line produces painted products, including can end stock. Pinda supplies foilstock to our Utinga foil plant, which produces converter, household and container foil.

 

Pinda is the largest aluminum rolling and recycling facility in South America in terms of shipments and the only facility in South America capable of producing can body and end stock. Pinda recycles primarily used beverage cans, and is engaged in tolling recycled metal for our customers.

 

During fiscal 2009, we conducted bauxite mining, alumina refining, primary aluminum smelting and hydro-electric power generation operations at our Ouro Preto, Brazil facility. Our owned power generation supplies approximately 25% of our smelter needs. We also own the mining rights to bauxite reserves in the Ouro Preto, Cataguases and Carangola regions.

 

In May 2009, we ceased the production of alumina at our Ouro Preto facility in Brazil. The global economic crisis and the recent dramatic drop in alumina prices have made alumina production at Ouro Preto economically unfeasible. Going forward, the plant will purchase alumina through third-parties. Other activities related to the facility, including electric power generation and the production of primary aluminum metal, will continue unaffected.

 

We also conduct primary aluminum smelting operations at our Aratu facility in Candeias, Brazil.

 

 

In connection with our spin-off from Alcan, we assumed a number of liabilities, commitments and contingencies mainly related to our historical rolled products operations, including liabilities in respect of legal claims and environmental matters. As a result, we may be required to indemnify Alcan for claims successfully brought against Alcan or for the defense of legal actions that arise from time to time in the normal course of our rolled products business including commercial and contract disputes, employee-related claims and tax

disputes (including several disputes with Brazil’s Ministry of Treasury regarding various forms of manufacturing taxes and social security contributions). In addition to these assumed liabilities and contingencies, we may, in the future, be involved in, or subject to, other disputes, claims and proceedings that arise in the ordinary course of our business, including some that we assert against others, such as environmental, health and safety, product liability, employee, tax, personal injury and other matters. Where appropriate, we have established reserves in respect of these matters (or, if required, we have posted cash guarantees). While the ultimate resolution of, and liability and costs related to, these matters cannot be determined with certainty due to the considerable uncertainties that exist, we do not believe that any of these pending actions, individually or in the aggregate, will materially impair our operations or materially affect our financial condition or liquidity. The following describes certain environmental matters relating to our business, including those for which we assumed liability as a result of our spin-off from Alcan.

 

Environmental Matters

 

We are involved in proceedings under the U.S. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, also known as CERCLA or Superfund, or analogous state provisions regarding liability arising from the usage, storage, treatment or disposal of hazardous substances and wastes at a number of sites in the United States, as well as similar proceedings under the laws and regulations of the other jurisdictions in which we have operations, including Brazil and certain countries in the European Union. Many of these jurisdictions have laws that impose joint and several liability, without regard to fault or the legality of the original conduct, for the costs of environmental remediation, natural resource damages, third party claims, and other expenses. In addition, we are, from time to time, subject to environmental reviews and investigations by relevant governmental authorities.

 

As described further in the following paragraph, we have established procedures for regularly evaluating environmental loss contingencies, including those arising from such environmental reviews and investigations and any other environmental remediation or compliance matters. We believe we have a reasonable basis for evaluating these environmental loss contingencies, and we believe we have made reasonable estimates of the costs that are likely to be borne by us for these environmental loss contingencies. Accordingly, we have established reserves based on our reasonable estimates for the currently anticipated costs associated with these environmental matters. We estimate that the undiscounted remaining clean-up costs related to all of our known environmental matters as of March 31, 2009 will be approximately $52 million. Of this amount, $31 million is included in Other long-term liabilities, with the remaining $21 million included in Accrued expenses and other current liabilities in our consolidated balance sheet as of March 31, 2009. Management has reviewed the environmental matters, including those for which we assumed liability as a result of our spin-off from Alcan. As a result of this review, management has determined that the currently anticipated costs associated with these environmental matters will not, individually or in the aggregate, materially impair our operations or materially adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

 

With respect to environmental loss contingencies, we record a loss contingency on a non-discounted basis whenever such contingency is probable and reasonably estimable. The evaluation model includes all asserted and unasserted claims that can be reasonably identified. Under this evaluation model, the liability and the related costs are quantified based upon the best available evidence regarding actual liability loss and cost estimates. Except for those loss contingencies where no estimate can reasonably be made, the evaluation model is fact-driven and attempts to estimate the full costs of each claim. Management reviews the status of, and estimated liability related to, pending claims and civil actions on a quarterly basis. The estimated costs in respect of such reported liabilities are not offset by amounts related to cost-sharing between parties, insurance, indemnification arrangements or contribution from other potentially responsible parties (PRPs) unless otherwise noted.

 

Butler Tunnel Site.  Novelis Corporation was a party in a 1989 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lawsuit before the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania involving the Butler

Tunnel Superfund site, a third-party disposal site. In May 1991, the court granted summary judgment against Novelis Corporation for alleged disposal of hazardous waste. After unsuccessful appeals, Novelis Corporation paid the entire judgment plus interest.

 

The EPA filed a second cost recovery action against Novelis Corporation seeking recovery of expenses associated with the installation of an early warning and response system for potential future releases from the Butler Tunnel site. In January 2008, Novelis Corporation and the Department of Justice, on behalf of the EPA, entered into a consent decree whereby Novelis Corporation agreed to pay approximately $2 million in three installments in settlement of its liability with the U.S. government. The settlement has been fully paid.

 

Prior to the execution of the Novelis Corporation consent decree, the EPA entered into consent decrees with the other Butler Tunnel PRPs to finance and construct the early warning and response system. On October 30, 2008, the trustee for the PRPs provided a detailed analysis of the past and future costs associated with the implementation of the early warning system and advised us of their intention to file a contribution action against us.

 

On February 3, 2009, Butler Tunnel PRPs and Novelis Corporation entered into a settlement agreement resolving the contribution claims. On March 5, 2009, pursuant to these agreements, Novelis Corporation remitted its settlement payment of past costs in the amount of approximately $1 million. As part of the settlement, Novelis became a member of the PRP group. Accordingly, Novelis bears an allocated share of certain future costs in the approximate annual amount of $75,000 between 2009 and 2018 related to the costs to complete and maintain the early warning and response system at the Butler Tunnel site.

 

In December 2005, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) issued a Notice of Violation (NOV) to the Company’s subsidiary, Logan Aluminum, Inc. (Logan), alleging violations of Logan’s Title V Operating Permit, which regulates emissions of air pollutants from the facility. In March 2006, the Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection (KDEP) issued a separate NOV to Logan alleging other violations of the Title V Operating Permit. In March 2009, as a result of these enforcement actions, Logan agreed to install new air pollution control equipment. Logan has also agreed to settle the USEPA NOV, including the payment of a civil penalty of $285,000. The KDEP NOV is currently subject to a Tolling Agreement with the state agency.

 

Legal Proceedings

 

Coca-Cola Lawsuits.  A lawsuit was commenced against Novelis Corporation on February 15, 2007 by Coca-Cola Bottler’s Sales and Services Company LLC (CCBSS) in Georgia state court. CCBSS is a consortium of Coca-Cola bottlers across the United States, including Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. CCBSS alleges that Novelis Corporation breached an aluminum can stock supply agreement between the parties, and seeks monetary damages in an amount to be determined at trial and a declaration of its rights under the agreement. The agreement includes a “most favored nations” provision regarding certain pricing matters. CCBSS alleges that Novelis Corporation breached the terms of the “most favored nations” provision. The dispute will likely turn on the facts that are presented to the court by the parties and the court’s finding as to how certain provisions of the agreement ought to be interpreted. If CCBSS were to prevail in this litigation, the amount of damages would likely be material. Novelis Corporation has filed its answer and the parties are proceeding with discovery.

 

ARCO Aluminum Complaint.  On May 24, 2007, Arco Aluminum Inc. (ARCO) filed a complaint against Novelis Corporation and Novelis Inc. in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. ARCO and Novelis are partners in a joint venture rolling mill located in Logan County, Kentucky. In the complaint, ARCO alleged that its consent was required in connection with Hindalco’s acquisition of Novelis. Failure to obtain consent, ARCO alleged, put us in default of the joint venture agreements, thereby triggering certain provisions in those agreements. The provisions include a reversion of the production management at the joint venture to Logan Aluminum from Novelis, and a reduction of the board of directors of the entity that manages the joint venture from seven members (four appointed by Novelis and three appointed by ARCO) to six members (three appointed by each of Novelis and ARCO). ARCO sought a court declaration that

(1) Novelis and its affiliates are prohibited from exercising any managerial authority or control over the joint venture, (2) Novelis’ interest in the joint venture is limited to an economic interest only and (3) ARCO has authority to act on behalf of the joint venture. Alternatively, ARCO sought a reversion of the production management function to Logan Aluminum, and a change in the composition of the board of directors of the entity that manages the joint venture. Novelis filed its answer to the complaint on July 16, 2007.

 

On July 3, 2007, ARCO filed a motion for partial summary judgment with respect to one of the counts of its complaint relating to the claim that Novelis breached the joint venture agreement by not seeking ARCO’s consent. On July 30, 2007, Novelis filed a motion to hold ARCO’s motion for summary judgment in abeyance (pending further discovery), along with a demand for a jury. On February 14, 2008, the judge issued an order granting our motion to hold ARCO’s summary judgment motion in abeyance. Following this ruling, the joint venture continued to conduct operational, management and board activities as normal.

 

On June 4, 2009, ARCO and Novelis entered into a settlement agreement to address and resolve all matters at issue in the lawsuit, including the Logan Joint Venture governance issues. On June 22, 2009, the parties requested an order from the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky to dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice. As a result of the settlement, among other things, Novelis will retain control of the Logan board of directors, production management responsibilities will revert to Logan, and certain Novelis employees who work at Logan will become employees of Logan.

 

 

None.

 

 

On May 15, 2007, all of our common shares were acquired by Hindalco through its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary AV Metals Inc. (Acquisition Sub) pursuant to a plan of arrangement (the Arrangement). Immediately following the Arrangement, Acquisition Sub transferred our common shares to its wholly-owned subsidiary AV Aluminum Inc. (AV Aluminum). As of the date of filing, AV Aluminum is the sole shareholder of record of our shares.

 

Subsequent to completion of the Arrangement on May 15, 2007, all of our common shares were indirectly held by Hindalco, and we became a foreign private issuer. We continue to file periodic reports under section 15(d) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 because our 7.25% Senior Notes are publicly traded (see Note 12 — Debt to our accompanying consolidated financial statements).

 

We currently do not pay dividends and do not intend to do so in the foreseeable future. No dividends have been declared since October 26, 2006. Future dividends are at the discretion of the board of directors and will depend on, among other things, our financial resources, cash flows generated by our business, our cash requirements, restrictions under the instruments governing our indebtedness, being in compliance with the appropriate indentures and covenants under the instruments that govern our indebtedness that would allow us to legally pay dividends and other relevant factors.

 

 

The selected consolidated financial data presented below as of and for the year ended March 31, 2009; the periods May 16, 2007 through March 31, 2008 and April 1, 2007 through May 15, 2007; the three months ended March 31, 2007 and as of and for the years ended December 31, 2006, 2005 and 2004 were derived from the audited consolidated financial statements of Novelis Inc. The selected consolidated financial data should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements for the respective periods and the related notes included elsewhere in this Form 10-K.

 

As of May 15, 2007, all of our common shares were indirectly held by Hindalco; thus, earnings per share data is not reported (in millions, except per share amounts).

 

 

 

 

 

OVERVIEW AND REFERENCES

 

Novelis is the world’s leading aluminum rolled products producer based on shipment volume. We produce aluminum sheet and light gauge products for the beverage and food can, transportation, construction and industrial, and foil products markets. As of March 31, 2009, we had operations in 11 countries on four continents: North America; South America; Asia and Europe, through 32 operating plants, one research facility and several market-focused innovation centers. In addition to aluminum rolled products plants, our South American businesses include bauxite mining, alumina refining, primary aluminum smelting and power generation facilities that are integrated with our rolling plants in Brazil. We are the only company of our size and scope focused solely on aluminum rolled products markets and capable of local supply of technologically sophisticated products in all of these geographic regions.

 

The following discussion contains forward-looking statements that reflect our plans, estimates and beliefs. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed in these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed below and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, particularly in “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Market Data” and “Risk Factors.”

 

References herein to “Novelis,” the “Company,” “we,” “our,” or “us” refer to Novelis Inc. and its subsidiaries unless the context specifically indicates otherwise. References herein to “Hindalco” refer to Hindalco Industries Limited. In October 2007, the Rio Tinto Group purchased all the outstanding shares of Alcan, Inc. References herein to “Alcan” refer to Rio Tinto Alcan Inc.

 

BACKGROUND AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

 

On May 18, 2004, Alcan announced its intention to transfer its rolled products businesses into a separate company and to pursue a spin-off of that company to its shareholders. The spin-off occurred on January 6, 2005 following approval by Alcan’s board of directors and shareholders, and legal and regulatory approvals. Alcan shareholders received one Novelis common share for every five Alcan common shares held.

 

Acquisition of Novelis Common Stock

 

On May 15, 2007, the Company was acquired by Hindalco through its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary pursuant to a plan of arrangement (the Arrangement) at a price of $44.93 per share. The aggregate purchase price for all of the Company’s common shares was $3.4 billion and Hindalco also assumed $2.8 billion of Novelis’ debt for a total transaction value of $6.2 billion. Subsequent to completion of the Arrangement on May 15, 2007, all of our common shares were indirectly held by Hindalco.

 

As discussed in Note 1 — Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies in the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements, the Arrangement was recorded in accordance with Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 103, Push Down Basis of Accounting Required in Certain Limited Circumstances. Accordingly, in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets, the consideration and related costs paid by Hindalco in connection with the acquisition have been “pushed down” to us and have been allocated to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed in accordance with FASB Statement No. 141, Business Combinations (FASB 141). Due to the impact of push down accounting, the Company’s consolidated financial statements and certain note presentations separate the Company’s presentation into two distinct periods to indicate the

application of two different bases of accounting between the periods presented: (1) the periods up to, and including, the May 15, 2007 acquisition date (labeled “Predecessor”) and (2) the periods after that date (labeled “Successor”). The accompanying consolidated financial statements include a black line division which indicates that the Predecessor and Successor reporting entities shown are not comparable.

 

Combined Financial Results of the Predecessor and Successor

 

For purposes of management’s discussion and analysis of the results of operations in this Form 10-K, we combined the results of operations for the period ended May 15, 2007 of the Predecessor with the period ended March 31, 2008 of the Successor. We believe the combined results of operations for the year ended March 31, 2008 (fiscal 2008) provide management and investors with a more meaningful perspective on Novelis’ financial and operational performance than if we did not combine the results of operations of the Predecessor and the Successor in this manner. Similarly, we combine the financial results of the Predecessor and the Successor when discussing segment information and sources and uses of cash for the year ended March 31, 2008.

 

The combined results of operations are non-GAAP financial measures, do not include any proforma assumptions or adjustments and should not be used in isolation or substitution of Predecessor and Successor results. Shown below are combining schedules of (1) shipments and (2) our results of operations for periods allocable to the Successor, Predecessor and the combined presentation for the year ended March 31, 2008 that we use throughout the discussion of results from operations.

 

 

 

 

 

Change in Fiscal Year End

 

On June 26, 2007, our board of directors approved the change of our fiscal year end to March 31 from December 31. On June 28, 2007, we filed a Transition Report on Form 10-Q for the three month period ended March 31, 2007 with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) pursuant to Rule 13a-10 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for transition period reporting. Accordingly, the accompanying consolidated and combined financial statements present our financial position as of March 31, 2009 and 2008; and the results of our operations, cash flows and changes in shareholder’s equity for the following periods: year ended March 31, 2009 (Successor); May 16, 2007 through March 31, 2008 (Successor); April 1, 2007 through May 15, 2007 (Predecessor) (on a combined basis, fiscal year ended March 31, 2008); the three months ended March 31, 2007; and the year ended December 31, 2006.

 

Throughout Management’s Discussion and Analysis (MD&A), data for all periods, except as of and for the year ended March 31, 2007, are derived from our audited consolidated and combined financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. All data as of and for the year ended March 31, 2007 are derived from our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements included in our transition period ended March 31, 2007 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended December 31, 2007.

 

CURRENT YEAR HIGHLIGHTS

 

The decrease in sales volumes relating to the deterioration of global economic conditions had a significant impact on our results of operations and liquidity during the second half of fiscal 2009. Key factors that

impacted these results are discussed briefly below and are discussed in further detail throughout the MD&A and Segment Review.

 

 

 

 

BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY CLIMATE

 

Global economic trends impact the Company, and there is a large amount of uncertainty with regard to economic trends and the timing of recovery. On an overall basis, markets in North America, Europe and Asia experienced significant economic downturns in the past year. Consumer confidence is low and credit remains tight in most global markets. The impact of demand reductions for flat rolled products varies for each region based upon the nature of the industry sectors in which we operate. In general, can shipments have remained relatively stable while construction, automotive and other industrial production markets experienced significant declines in demand during the second half of our 2009 fiscal year.

 

As discussed in further detail in Segment Review, we have taken a number of actions to adjust our metal intake, cut back on production and reduce fixed costs which will effectively manage our working capital.

 

 

The average and closing prices based upon the London Metal Exchange (LME) for aluminum for the years ended March 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007 are as follows:

 

 

LME prices for aluminum (LME prices) rose to a peak of $3,292 per tonne in July 2008, but have significantly declined since the high point due to falling demand for primary aluminum. Prices closed at $1,365 per tonne at March 31, 2009, after hitting a low of $1,254 per tonne in February 2009. Aluminum prices have subsequently increased to $1,383 per tonne as of May 31, 2009.

 

Most of our business is conducted under a conversion model, which allows us to pass through increases or decreases in the price of aluminum to our customers. Nearly all of our products have a price structure with two components: (i) a pass-through aluminum price based on the LME plus local market premiums and (ii) a “conversion premium” price on the conversion cost to produce the rolled product which reflects, among other factors, the competitive market conditions for that product.

 

A key component of our conversion model is the use of derivative instruments on projected aluminum requirements to preserve our conversion margin. We enter into forward metal purchases simultaneous with the sales contracts that contain fixed metal prices. These forward metal purchases directly hedge the economic risk of future metal price fluctuation associated with these contracts. We also enter into forward metal purchases, aluminum futures and options to hedge our exposure to rising metal prices and sales contracts with metal price ceilings. Additionally, we sell short-term LME futures contracts to reduce the cash flow volatility of fluctuating metal prices associated with the metal price lag.

 

Rapidly declining LME prices had the following impacts on our business during the second half of fiscal 2009:

 

 

Metal Price Ceilings

 

Sales contracts representing approximately 257 kt and 300 kt of our fiscal 2009 and 2008 shipments, respectively, contained a ceiling over which metal prices could not be contractually passed through to certain customers. This negatively impacted our margins and operating cash flows when the price we paid for metal was above the ceiling price contained in these contracts. We calculate and report this difference to be approximately the difference between the quoted purchase price on the LME (adjusted for any local premiums and for any price lag associated with purchasing or processing time) and the metal price ceiling in our contracts. Cash flows from operations are negatively impacted by the same amounts, adjusted for any timing difference between customer receipts and vendor payments, and offset partially by reduced income taxes.

 

During the years ended March 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, we were unable to pass through approximately $176 million, $230 million and $460 million, respectively, of metal purchase costs associated with sales under

these contracts. Based on current LME price levels, no further unfavorable revenue or cash flow impacts are expected through December 31, 2009 when these contracts expire.

 

We employ the following strategies to manage and mitigate the risk associated with metal price ceilings and rising prices that we cannot pass through to certain customers:

 

 

In connection with the allocation of the purchase price paid by Hindalco, we established reserves totaling $655 million as of May 15, 2007 to record these sales contracts at fair value. These reserves are being accreted into net sales over the remaining lives of the underlying contracts. This accretion has no impact on cash flow. For the years ended March 31, 2009 and 2008, we recorded accretion of $233 million and $270 million, respectively. As of March 31, 2009, the balance of these reserves is approximately $152 million.

 

Metal Price Lag

 

On certain sales contracts we experience timing differences on the pass through of changing aluminum prices from our suppliers to our customers. Additional timing differences occur in the flow of metal costs through moving average inventory cost values and cost of goods sold. In periods of declining prices, our earnings are negatively impacted by this timing difference while the opposite is true in periods of rising prices. We refer to this timing difference as “metal price lag.” We sell short-term LME forward contracts to help mitigate our exposure to metal price lag.

 

Certain of our sales contracts, most notably in Europe, contain fixed metal prices for periods of time ranging from four to thirty-six months. We typically enter into forward metal purchases simultaneous with these sales contracts.

 

Foreign Exchange Impact

 

Fluctuations in foreign exchange rates also impact our operating results. The following table presents the average of the month end exchange rates and changes from the prior year period:

 

 

The U.S. dollar strengthened as compared to the local currency in all regions during the year ended March 31, 2009, as compared to a weakened U.S. dollar for the year ended March 31, 2008. In Asia, the strengthening of the U.S. dollar resulted in foreign exchange losses as the operations there are recorded in local currency, with a larger portion of our liabilities denominated in the U.S. dollar, including metal purchases and long-term debt. In Brazil, where we have predominantly U.S. dollar selling prices and local currency operating costs, we generally benefit as the U.S. dollar strengthens. While we began hedging with derivatives in the short-term, we are still exposed to long-term fluctuations in the Brazilian real.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

 

Year Ended March 31, 2009 Compared With the Year Ended March 31, 2008 (Twelve Months Combined Non-GAAP)

 

Positive trends in the demand for aluminum products and inflationary movement in average LME prices during the first six months of fiscal 2009 reversed sharply in the third fiscal quarter of fiscal 2009 and continued into the fourth quarter.

 

For the year ended March 31, 2009, we realized a net loss of $1.9 billion on net sales of $10.2 billion, compared to the year ended March 31, 2008 when we realized a net loss of $117 million on net sales of $11.2 billion. The reduction in sales is due to the decrease in the average LME price as well as a reduction in demand for flat rolled products in most regions during the last six months of fiscal 2009.

 

Costs of goods sold decreased $1.0 billion, or 10%, and stayed flat as percentage of net sales as compared to the prior year period on an overall basis. Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased $96 million, or 23%, primarily due to reductions in professional fees and employee-related costs, including incentive compensation associated with the Arrangement.

 

The current year results include non-cash asset impairment charges totaling $1.5 billion. The impairment charges are discussed in more detail under Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates.

 

The current year was also impacted by $519 million in unrealized losses on derivative instruments and $95 million in restructuring charges. These negative factors were partially offset by a $122 million gain on the extinguishment of debt. We also recorded an income tax benefit of $246 million on our net loss, as compared to a $77 million income tax provision in the prior year. These items are discussed in further detail below.

 

Segment Review (On a combined non-GAAP basis)

 

The tables below show selected segment financial information (in millions, except shipments which are in kilotonnes (kt)). For additional financial information related to our operating segments, see Note 21 — Segment, Geographical Area and Major Customer Information in the accompanying consolidated financial statements.

 

 

The following table reconciles changes in Segment income for the year ended March 31, 2008 to the year ended March 31, 2009 (in millions):

 

 

 

 

North America

 

As of March 31, 2009, North America manufactured aluminum sheet and light gauge products through 11 plants, including two dedicated recycling facilities. Important end-use applications include beverage cans, containers and packaging, automotive and other transportation applications, building products and other industrial applications.

 

In the second half of 2009, North America experienced a reduction in demand as all industry sectors were impacted by the ongoing economic downturn. Net sales for fiscal 2009 were down $171 million, or 4%, as compared to fiscal 2008 due to lower volume and a lower average LME price. While shipments were down 5% for fiscal 2009 as compared to fiscal 2008, shipments in the second half of fiscal 2009 were down 16% as compared to the first half of the year. The can business remains relatively stable, but shipments of most other products are below the prior year level. Shipments to the construction market was down 25% as compared to the prior year, due to reduced production and demand. We anticipate that demand for can sheet will remain stable, but expect demand in the construction and automotive sectors to remain weak for at least the first half of fiscal 2010.

 

The current economic environment has also resulted in customers in the auto industry filing for bankruptcy. We believe our exposure to outstanding receivables from customers in bankruptcy is minimal.

 

Segment income for the 2009 period was $82 million, down $160 million as compared to the prior year, due to the negative impact of metal price lag, conversion costs, volume decreases and foreign exchange related to our operations in Canada. The negative impact of conversion costs relates to increases in energy costs and freight as compared to the prior year.

 

Other changes reflect $11 million in acquisition-related stock compensation expense in the prior year period, and an $18 million favorable impact related to metal price ceiling contracts as compared to the prior year. Selling, general and administrative costs were down $22 million as compared to the prior year as the cost reduction initiatives have begun to favorably impact results. These favorable changes were partially offset

by a $23 million reduction in the net favorable impact of acquisition-related fair value adjustments and a $13 million reduction in the benefit associated with recycling used beverage cans.

 

In response to reductions in demand, we announced a Voluntary Separation Program (VSP) available to salaried employees in North America and the Corporate office aimed at reducing staff levels. This VSP plan was supplemented by an Involuntary Severance Program (ISP). Through the VSP and ISP, we eliminated approximately 120 positions during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009 and the first quarter of fiscal 2010.

 

Europe

 

As of March 31, 2009, our European segment provided European markets with value-added sheet and light gauge products through 13 aluminum rolled products facilities and one dedicated recycling facility. Europe serves a broad range of aluminum rolled product end-use markets in various applications including can, automotive, lithographic, foil products and painted products.

 

Europe has also experienced a significant reduction in demand in all industry sectors with flat rolled shipments and net sales down 15% and 14%, respectively, compared to the prior year. The volume reduction had a $404 million unfavorable impact on net sales, with the remaining decrease reflecting the impact of lower LME prices and a stronger U.S. dollar. Demand for specialty, painted and light gauge products has been down all year mainly as a result of the weak construction market, as well as recent reductions in demand for automotive products. Increases in beverage can and lithographic shipments in the first six months were reversed in the second half of the year, resulting in year-over-year declines in both sectors.

 

Segment income for the 2009 period was $236 million, as compared to $273 million in the comparative period of the prior year. Volume and foreign currency remeasurement unfavorably impacted Segment income but these impacts were partially offset by favorable conversion premiums, metal price lag and conversion costs. The favorable impact of conversion costs relates to a reduction in labor costs, partially offset by increases in energy costs as compared to the prior year.

 

Other changes reflect a $13 million net favorable impact of income and expense items associated with acquisition-related fair value adjustments and $6 million of stock compensation expense in the prior year.

 

In the fourth quarter of 2009, we announced a number of restructuring actions across Europe, including the closure of our plant in Rogerstone, United Kingdom effective April 30, 2009. The closure of the Rogerstone plant resulted in the elimination of 440 positions and approximately $20 million in severance-related costs. We also recorded $20 million in environmental remediation expenses and $3 million in other exit related costs related to the closure of this plant. We also recorded $12 million in non-cash fixed asset impairments, an $8 million write-down of parts and supplies, and a $3 million reduction to reserves associated with unfavorable contracts established as part of the Arrangement.

 

Cost reductions were also implemented through capacity and staff reductions at our Rugles, France and Ohle, Germany facilities with severance-related costs associated with these actions totaling $10 million in 2009.

 

Asia

 

As of March 31, 2009, Asia operated three manufacturing facilities with production balanced between foil, construction and industrial, and beverage and food can end-use applications.

 

Asia also experienced downturns in demand and shipments, with the largest reductions in beverage can products, followed by electronics, construction and general purpose foil products. Total shipments and net sales decreased 13% and 16%, respectively. The volume reduction had a $242 million unfavorable impact on net sales with the remaining decrease reflecting the impact of lower LME prices. Asia has begun to see signs of recovering demand, with orders for the first quarter of fiscal 2010 higher than those in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009.

 

The improvement in Segment income of $34 million from fiscal 2008 to fiscal 2009 was due to the favorable impact of metal price lag, improved conversion premiums and product mix, partially offset by the

volume decreases, increases to conversion costs and foreign currency remeasurement. The conversion cost increases were primarily related to increases in energy costs as compared to the prior year period.

 

Other influences which may positively impact sales going forward include demand improvements within and outside of China, the impact of China’s stimulus package, inventory restocking by customers, and the price gap between the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) and the LME. For the first time in five years, the metal price gap that existed between the LME prices for aluminum and the SHFE reversed in January 2009 such that the LME price is now lower than the SHFE. As the SHFE-LME gap reversed, products manufactured with LME priced aluminum are now more competitive in the region versus those produced inside China. The gap was favorable by an average of $179 per tonne in March, and continues to increase throughout April 2009.

 

In response to reduced demand, we eliminated 34 positions in Asia in the fourth quarter of 2009 and recorded approximately $1 million in severance-related costs related to a voluntary retirement program. Also, during the year ended March 31, 2009, we recorded an impairment charge of approximately $5 million in Novelis Korea due to the obsolescence of certain production related fixed assets.

 

South America

 

As of March 31, 2009, South America operated two rolling plants in Brazil along with two smelters, an alumina refinery, bauxite mines and power generation facilities. South America manufactures various aluminum rolled products for the beverage and food can, construction and industrial and transportation end-use markets.

 

The economic slowdown impacting the other three regions has not yet affected the demand for flat rolled canstock in South America, with shipments of can products increasing as compared to the prior year. Total shipments increased 5% over prior year, with rolled products shipments up 7%, but net sales increased only 1% as compared to the prior year due to lower LME prices.

 

Segment income for South America decreased $22 million as compared to the prior year period. Conversion costs increased due to cost inflation for energy, alumina, alloys and hardeners. Other changes reflect a $9 million net favorable impact of income and expense items associated with acquisition-related fair value adjustments, a $6 million reduction in selling, general and administrative expenses and $3 million of stock compensation expense in the prior year. These positive impacts were partially offset by an $11 million decrease in the smelter benefit as the benefit from our smelter operations in South America declines as average LME prices decrease.

 

On January 26, 2009, we announced that we will cease the production of alumina at our Ouro Preto facility in May 2009. The sustained decline in alumina prices has made alumina production economically infeasible. For the foreseeable future, the plant will purchase alumina through third parties. This resulted in the reduction of approximately 290 positions, including 150 employees and 140 contractors, and we recorded restructuring charges totaling $2 million related to severance in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009. Other exit costs include less than $1 million related to the idling of the refinery. Other activities related to the facility, including electric power generation and the production of primary aluminum, will continue unaffected.

 

Other Costs and Expenses

 

Costs such as depreciation and amortization, interest expense and unrealized gains (losses) on changes in the fair value of derivatives are not utilized by our chief operating decision maker in evaluating segment performance. Additionally, many other functions are managed directly from our corporate office, which focuses on strategy development and oversees governance, policy, legal compliance, human resources and finance matters that are not allocated or managed by the regions.

The table below reconciles total Segment income to net loss for the year ended March 31, 2009 and 2008 (in millions).

 

 

 

 

Depreciation and amortization increased $36 million primarily due to the increases in bases of our property, plant and equipment and intangible assets resulting from the Arrangement in the first quarter of fiscal 2008.

 

Interest expense and amortization of debt issuance costs decreased primarily due to lower average interest rates on our variable rate debt. Approximately 29% of our debt was variable rate as of March 31, 2009.

 

Unrealized losses on the change in fair value of derivative instruments represent the mark-to-market accounting for changes in the fair value of our derivatives that do not receive hedge accounting treatment. In the year ended March 31, 2009, these unrealized losses increased primarily attributable to falling LME prices. Our principal exposure to LME prices is related to derivatives on fixed forward price contracts. We hedge these contracts by purchasing aluminum futures contracts and these contracts decrease in value in periods of declining LME prices.

 

We recorded a $1.34 billion impairment charge related to goodwill in fiscal 2009.

 

The gain on extinguishment of debt relates to the exchange of Senior Notes with a principal value of $275 million for additional term loan with a face value of $220 million and an estimated fair value of $165 million. See Liquidity and Capital Resources below for additional discussion about the accounting for this exchange.

The adjustment to eliminate proportional consolidation includes a $160 million impairment charge related to our investment in Norf. Excluding this impairment charge, the adjustment to eliminate proportional consolidation increased from $43 million in fiscal 2008 to $66 million in fiscal 2009 primarily related to our Norf joint venture due to a change in the statutory tax rate in Germany that was reflected in the prior year period. Income taxes related to our equity method investments, such as Norf, are reflected in the carrying value of the investment and not in our consolidated income tax provision.

 

Corporate selling, general and administrative expenses decreased primarily due to $45 million of stock compensation expenses associated with the Arrangement in fiscal 2008 and lower incentive compensation expenses in the current year.

 

Other costs, net for the 2009 fiscal year includes a $26 million non-cash gain on reversal of a legal accrual. Sales transaction fees of $32 million associated with the Arrangement were recorded in the 2008 fiscal year.

 

We have experienced significant fluctuations in income tax expense and the corresponding effective tax rate. The primary factors contributing to the effective tax rate differing from the statutory Canadian rate include:

 

 

During the year ended March 31, 2009, Canadian legislation was enacted allowing us to elect to determine our Canadian taxable income in U.S. dollars. Our election was effective April 1, 2008, and such U.S. dollar taxable gains and losses no longer exist in Canada as of that date.

 

 

For the year ended March 31, 2009, we recorded a $246 million income tax benefit on our pre-tax loss of $2.0 billion, before our equity in net (income) loss of non-consolidated affiliates and minority interests’ share, which represented an effective tax rate of 12%. Our effective tax rate differs from the benefit at the Canadian statutory rate primarily due to the following factors: (1) $415 million related to a non-deductible goodwill impairment charge, (2) a $48 million benefit for exchange remeasurement of deferred income taxes, (3) a $61 million increase in valuation allowances primarily related to tax losses in certain jurisdictions where we believe it is more likely than not that we will not be able to utilize those losses, (4) a $33 million benefit from differences between the Canadian statutory and foreign effective tax rates applied to entities in different jurisdictions and (5) a $2 million expense related to an increase in uncertain tax positions.

 

For the year ended March 31, 2008, we recorded a $77 million income tax provision on our pre-tax loss of $63 million, before our equity in net (income) loss of non-consolidated affiliates and minority interests’ share, which represented an effective tax rate of (122)%. Our effective tax rate differs from the benefit at the Canadian statutory rate primarily due to the following factors: (1) a $62 million provision for (a) pre-tax foreign currency gains or losses with no tax effect and (b) the tax effect of U.S. dollar denominated currency

gains or losses with no pre-tax effect, (2) a $30 million increase for exchange remeasurement of deferred income taxes, (3) a $17 million benefit from the effects of enacted tax rate changes on cumulative taxable temporary differences, (4) a $7 million increase in valuation allowances primarily related to tax losses in certain jurisdictions where we believe it is more likely than not that we will not be able to utilize those losses, and (5) a $17 million increase in uncertain tax positions recorded under the provisions of FASB Interpretation No. 48, Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes (FIN 48).

 

Year Ended March 31, 2008 Compared With the Year Ended March 31, 2007 (Twelve Months Combined Non-GAAP for both periods)

 

For the year ended March 31, 2008, we realized a net loss of $117 million on net sales of $11.2 billion, as compared to the year ended March 31, 2007 when we realized a net loss of $265 million on net sales of $10.2 billion. The 11% increase in net sales was primarily due to increases in conversion premiums in all regions as well as $270 million of accretion in fair value reserves associated with the metal price ceiling contracts.

 

The reduction in the net loss as compared to the prior year was primarily driven by the favorable impact of purchase accounting and increases in conversion premiums, partially offset by increased depreciation and amortization expense due to the acquisition by Hindalco.

 

Costs of goods sold increased $618 million, or 6%, but decreased as a percentage of net sales as compared to the prior year period as a result of pricing improvements across all regions, partially offset by certain operating cost increases. Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased slightly as a result of reduced corporate costs, offset by increased stock compensation associated with the Arrangement. For the year ended March 31, 2008, we recorded income tax expense of $77 million, as compared to a $99 million income tax benefit. These items are discussed in further detail below.

 

Segment Review (On a combined non-GAAP basis)

 

The tables below show selected segment financial information (in millions, except shipments which are in kilotonnes (kt)).

 

 

The following table highlights changes in Segment income for the twelve months ended March 31, 2008 as compared to the twelve months ended March 31, 2009 (in millions):