LONDON - Aluminium Bahrain, known as Alba, said on Tuesday its sales volumes fell ​by 17% year on ⁠year in the first quarter to 312,563 metric ‌tons as the war in the Middle East from the end of ​February disrupted shipping routes.

Alba's net finished aluminium production was down 14% to 339,734 ​tons in ​the first three months of the year, with the company deciding to shut 19% of capacity in mid-March ⁠due to closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Days later, the company's smelter was targeted by an Iranian attack at the end of the month.

* Alba, with annual smelting capacity of ​1.6 million ‌tons per year, ⁠said in an ⁠earnings release it continues to closely monitor inventory levels as it looks ​to optimise use of raw material alumina.

* ‌The company is deploying diversified sourcing ⁠strategies and flexible logistics to maintain operations, it said, using "multiple regional ports" and "multimodal transport routes" for imports of raw materials and exports of metal.

* Alba said in March it was routing up to 60% of its aluminium exports via the Saudi port of Jeddah.

* The company also said on Tuesday it signed a share purchase agreement on May ‌6 to acquire European smelter Aluminium Dunkerque, having ⁠announced talks to buy out the current owner, ​U.S. fund AIP, on March 2.

* Despite the drop in volumes, Alba's net profit rose by 316% year on year ​to 75.3 ‌million Bahraini dinars ($199.7 million), buoyed by higher aluminium ⁠prices.

($1 = 0.3771 Bahraini dinars)

(Reporting ​by Tom Daly; Additional reporting by Polina Devitt)