State-owned NALCO’s consolidated profit came in at 15.95 billion rupees ($173.49 million) for the October-December period, up 1.8% from a year earlier.
Aluminium prices remained firm in the October-December period as Chinese producers faced higher costs amid winter power curtailments and tighter environmental rules across the supply chain, analysts at Elara Capital said in a research note.
Top aluminium producer and consumer China often cuts industrial power during winter to safeguard heating, forcing aluminium smelters to run below capacity which drives up their costs.
The benchmark three-month aluminium rose 11.8% on-year, during the reporting quarter. Higher commodity prices tend to raise the selling price of metals.
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Higher aluminium prices helped partly offset the impact of lower alumina prices.
China alumina prices dropped nearly 46% year-on-year in the October-December quarter, due to weak demand in region, the world’s largest consumer.The Bhubaneswar, Odisha-based company is India’s largest producer of alumina, or aluminium oxide, which is used in the production of aluminium and also as a catalyst in petrochemical refining.
Revenue from operations edged up 1.5% to 47.31 billion rupees ($514.59 million). NALCO’s aluminium business, which contributes to 73% of overall revenue, grew 33%.
Its second-biggest segment, chemical, which produces caustic soda, hydrochloric acid and sodium hypochlorite, fell 34%.
Expenses rose 5.8% to 27.93 billion rupees, mainly due to higher raw materials cost.
Earlier in the week, rival Vedanta reported a 60% rise in profit on Thursday, while Hindalco Industries is yet to report their quarterly results.
($1 = 91.9380 Indian rupees)