Norsk Hydro sees higher cost of cyberattack as Q2 lags

(Reuters) — Norsk Hydro ASA, one of the world's largest aluminum producers, said a cyberattack it sustained in March would cost it more than expected in the second quarter as it reported quarterly earnings that slightly lagged forecasts on Tuesday.

The cyberattack is now expected to cost 250-300 million crowns in the second quarter, compared with an earlier view that it would cost some 200-250 million crowns in that period.

Norsk Hydro is yet to receive payments from its cyberattack insurance and did not say when it would recognize them. "This will be recorded when deemed virtually certain," it said in a statement.

The firm's underlying earnings before interest and tax fell to 875 million crowns ($101.23 million) during the second quarter, below the expected 893 million crowns, according to a Refinitiv poll by 10 analysts, and down from 2.7 billion crowns at the same time a year ago.

The company has been struggling with multiple challenges over the past year apart from the cyberattack, including a partial shutdown of its Alunorte plant in Brazil and the ongoing trade war between China and the United States.

The company's stock is down by roughly a third over the past year, lagging an Oslo benchmark index down by 1.5% over the same period.