Hindalco net down 52% to Rs 344 cr

Hindalco Industries, India’s largest aluminum producer, said that its standalone net profit for the quarter ended September 30 declined by 52 per cent to Rs 344 crore due to a drop in metal prices. Aluminum prices in the reporting quarter were, on an average, about 35 per cent lower on the London Metal Exchange (LME).

The company, which also produces copper, had reported a net profit of Rs 720 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. In the latest reporting period, the company recorded a 15 per cent decline in sales at Rs 4,970 crore.

“Aluminium prices will now primarily be range-bound,” said Debu Bhattacharya, managing director, Hindalco. “It should be in the range of $1,800 to over $2,000 per tonne,” he said, stressing that these figures were his personal estimates.

The company plans to raise $500 million through an equity sale to fund its ongoing projects. This may include qualified institutional placement (QIP) or sale of shares in overseas markets through the ADR or GDR route. The company has a debt-to-equity multiple of 35-65 and it has a capital expenditure plan of Rs 23,000 crore over the next three years. It plans to fund 70 per cent of its capital expenditure through debt. Rest of the financial requirement would be meet with equity infusion and internal accrual.

PTI adds: The company planned to raise around Rs 3,000-crore through equity or equity-like instruments to part-finance its alumina project, said Chief Financial Officer S Talukdar told reporters.