Hindalco Q2 net profit up 16%

Hindalco Industries has reported a net profit of Rs 503 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, against Rs 434 crore in the same period last year. The revenues jumped seven per cent at Rs 6,272 crore.

The company said the sales were up on the back of higher volumes and improved realisations despite lower sales of value added products.

Managing Director Debu Bhattacharya said the global economic recovery was getting stalled and there were great distances to cover before the global economies recover. The company cautioned of weakening business and dropping customer sentiments.

Bhattacharya said the global demand for aluminium was holding up at present, but the global factors will have certain impact on the demand. The aluminium demand projections for 2011 are estimated at nine per cent, but will drop in the future. He said that the latest projections for October 2012 show demand growth at 6.5 per cent. "A 6.5 per cent growth is very good considering that aluminium demand growth is linked to global gross domestic product, which grow at four per cent," he said.

The copper business posted a 16 per cent rise in ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) despite the company taking planned shutdown of its smelters. Hindalcosaid that the loss of production will be made up in the future. The total debt on the company's books as on September 30 stood at Rs 12,400 crore.