Aluminium producer Norsk Hydro reported a rise in earnings in the second quarter on the back of rising prices and stronger demand for the metal.
Underlying earnings, released earlier this week, rose 7.8 percent to 1,618 million Norwegian krona ($190 million) from the first quarter.
The company forecast global aluminium demand to grow by 4 to 5 percent this year, but predicted demand from China could increase by as much as 5 to 7 percent due to unexpectedly higher activity.
"China came in a little bit stronger than what we anticipated at the end of Q1, but we still see healthy demand in the U.S. and small upticks in Europe as well," Eivind Kallevik, CFO of Norsk Hydro, told CNBC.
According to Kallevik, one reason for rising aluminium prices is increasing demand from the autos industry, which can use the metal to build lighter cars in order to meet carbon emissions standards.
"There's clear demand growth from the automotive side due to the fact of regulations," he said. "Whether you talk about normal combustion engine-driven cars or electrical cars, the growth factor for aluminium remains good."
