The world’s largest aluminum producer Rusal has announced plans to cut production after its net profit tumbled 95.25% in the first six months of the year, due to falling prices and rising costs.

­The Russian company reported net profit for the first half of 2012 of $37 million, comparing to $779 million a year earlier. Revenue fell 9.66% to $5.71 billion. Rusal also reported a net loss of $37 million in the second quarter, which resulted in a 72% drop in quarterly profit.

"The market conditions have warranted the company to introduce a series of cost-cutting measures to sustain its profitability," Rusal’s CEO Oleg Deripaska said in a statementю