The Hindu Business Line : Hindalco Q4 profit up 15%

Mumbai May 4 Hindalco's fourth quarter net profit rose 15 per cent, driven by strong aluminium prices and increased value added product sales, which brought better realisations.

Net profit amounted to Rs 721 crore, up from Rs 626 crore in the corresponding year-ago period.

The net profit rode a 30 per cent increase in net sales, which stood at Rs 4,748 crore (Rs 3,657 crore).

Other income rose 66 per cent to Rs 123 crore (Rs 74 crore).

The gap between net profit growth and revenue growth was due to one-time costs of around Rs 80-85 crore, which included transaction costs for processing the acquisition of US-based Novelis, said Mr Debu Bhattacharya, Managing Director of Hindalco, at a press conference here on Friday.

EBITDA for the quarter was up 17 per cent at Rs 1,173 crore (Rs 1,004 crore).

Revenue from the aluminium business rose 18 per cent to Rs 2,042 crore; and profit before income and tax by 10 per cent to Rs 790 crore during the quarter. The copper business reported a revenue rise of 40 per cent and a PBIT rise of 13.6 per cent.

Operational efficiencies

For the fiscal ended March 2007, the company reported a net profit increase of 55 per cent. It attributed the growth to higher capacity utilisation, increased realisation, and strengthening of operational efficiencies.

Net profit stood at Rs 2,564 crore, up from Rs 1,652 crore in the previous fiscal.

Net sales at Rs 18,313 crore, rose 61 per cent, while EBITDA rose 54 per cent at Rs 4,385 crore.

Aluminium revenues rose 21.5 per cent to Rs 7,344 crore (Rs 6,042 crore), while its PBIT was up 37.6 per cent. Copper revenues doubled to Rs 10,977 crore (Rs 5,354 crore); the segment's PBIT surged to Rs 517 crore (Rs 19.3 crore).

Despite lower alumina prices during the year, the focus on the speciality business as well as a prudent mix of forward contracts and spot sales helped the company maintain realisations, it said in a statement.

Going ahead, demand for aluminium is expected to be strong, especially from India and China, said the statement. New capacities will come on stream in copper in calendar year 2008, but mine output may continue to fall short of smelter requirements, constraining output, said the company.

The company's stock gained 1.54 per cent on the BSE, to close at Rs 148.15 on Friday.

More Stories on : Financial Performance | Aluminium | Hindalco Industries Ltd

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