Aditya Birla Group firm Hindalco Industries on Tuesday reported 88.7 per cent plunge in standalone net profit to Rs 40.5 crore for the quarter ending December 31, 2015, due to a sharp fall in metal prices.
The company had reported a standalone net profit of Rs 359 crore in the corresponding quarter of last fiscal, the company said in a regulatory filing.
Its total income from operations declined to Rs 8,150.3 crore during the quarter under review from Rs 8,603.03 crore in the year-ago period.
Total expenses declined to Rs 7,786.7 crore during the quarter against Rs 7,895.9 crore in the year-ago quarter.
“Operating results for the quarter were severely impacted by the sharp drop in London Metal Exchange prices and regional aluminium premium, the macro economic factors beyond the company’s control. As a result, combined decline in realisations, on YoY basis was over $700 per tonne of aluminium,” the company said in a statement.
“However, strong operating performance on the back of ramp-up of new age smelters, partly aided by softer input prices helped us partly mitigate the realisation pressure. The Mahan smelter is now operating at full capacity and the Aditya smelter is well on course of full ramp-up,” it said. It said revenues for the quarter were down by five per cent due to a sharp decline in aluminium and copper realisations.
However, a strong increase in aluminium volumes and thrust on value addition partially offset the impact of severe fall in realisations. — PTI
