Excluding tax-effected special items in both periods, net income for the second quarter of 2013 was $62 million, down from $129 million for the same period in the company's last financial year, which was mainly driven by lower adjusted EBITDA and a tax benefit in the prior year that did not reoccur.

Adjusted EBITDA was $277 million for the Q2 2013, compared to Novelis' second highest EBITDA of $301 million reported for the same period last year, which was primarily a result of higher employment and project start-up costs associated with various expansion projects.

"As expected, we had a strong second quarter with Adjusted EBITDA up seven percent sequentially, and are operating at or near capacity in all of our regions," said Phil Martens, president and CEO of Novelis.

Martens said that the actions taken by Novelis over the last few years have strengthened the company's operations and will better position the company as it continues its transition for future growth.

"Although we see near-term pressure due to a slowdown in the global economy, we continue to believe in the strong long-term growth outlook for can, automotive, and specialties and expect our expansions to deliver strong EBITDA contributions once they are fully commissioned," Martens added.

Shipments of rolled aluminum products totalled 719kt for Q2 2013, compared to 720kt for the same period last year.

Net sales for Q2 2013 were $2.4 billion, a 15% decrease compared to $2.9 billion for the same period a year ago. Novelis blamed a 20% decline in average aluminum prices.

Novelis reported liquidity of $919 million, forecasting that it's Q3 figure would be pressured by the company's aggressive capex programme ($178) and its semi-annual bond interest payment.

In October, Novelis opened Asia's largest fully integrated recycling and casting facility in South Korea. Once fully commissioned, it will have an annual capacity of approximately 265kt. This new state-of-the-art facility, together with the company's other recycling facilities, makes it the world's leading recycler of aluminium.