Hindalco Q1 net profit jumps over 4-fold to R294 cr

New Delhi, Aug 12: Aluminium maker Hindalco on Friday reported over four-fold jump in standalone net profit to over R 294 cr ore for the quarter ended June 30, helped by better operational performance.

The Aditya Birla Group flagship had clocked net profit of R61.10 crore in the year-ago period.

It said in a BSE filing that its total standalone income fell by 11% to R7,716,53 crore in AprilJune quarter of the current fiscal, from R8,667 crore during the same period of 2015-16, on account of decline in realisations. Total expenses of the company declined to R6,703.82 crore from R7,993.05 crore during the period under review.

Market welcomed the company's performance, with its scrip rising by 2.81% to R146.25 apiece on BSE in the afternoon trade. The firm said its revenues were hit due to a “sharp decline in realisations,” while the net profit rose by more than four-fold helped by “better operational performance”.

“The company delivered a robust operational performance in adverse macroeconomic conditions. Its operational performance was also supported by deflationary energy prices,” Hindalco said.

In spite of a fall in aluminium revenues, the year-on- year (y-o-y) aluminium revenues were higher by 8% on the back of a strong volume growth but a 28% drop in copper revenues negated this increase, it added. The average London Metal Exchange (LME) prices for aluminium and copper were lower by 11% and 22% respectively in April-June 2016-17 as against a year ago.

In aluminium business, the impact was more severe due to a sharp fall in the local market premium, which declined by as much as 5-0%. Continued strong imports of aluminium in to the country also adversely impacted the results.

Weak Rupee enabled partially to offset the effect of the drop in realisations. The lower cost of raw materials, especially energy inputs, was a major relief during the quarter.

Going ahead, the firm said, macroeconomic headwinds still persist and the uncertain global macro factors pose several challenges.

“The high level of imports continue to impact domestic sale volumes. Hindalco continues to focus on operational excellence,higher value addition, customer centricity and cash conservation to tide over these issues,” it added. PTI