Aluminium giant Novelis Inc. said its third quarter profits rebounded as cost cutting, restructuring initiatives and efficiency improvements begun early last year paid off.

The Atlanta-based maker of rolled aluminium products said it earned a profit of $68 million for its third quarter of its 2010 fiscal year, compared to a net loss of $1.8 billion for the same period the year before. The prior year results include non-cash, pre-tax impairment charges of $1.5 billion and $463 million of unrealized losses on derivatives.

The company said it expects to hit its goal of annualized cost savings of $140 million ahead of the scheduled second quarter of fiscal 2011.

It announced plans on Feb. 11 to move its North American headquarters to Atlanta from Cleveland.

“As part of our focus to continually improve our business model, we are relocating our North American headquarters to our global headquarters in Atlanta, by year-end,” said Phil Martens, Novelis President and COO, in a statement. “This will better align the organization, allow us to realize synergies and increase efficiency.”