Hindalco Q4 net jumps to Rs 1,077 cr

Net income rose to Rs 1,077 crore in the three months ended March 31, 2008 from Rs 721 crore a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Profit included Rs 541 crore in tax writebacks for previous years, the company said.

Cuts in the fees smelters including Hindalco charge mining companies to process ore into metal are curbing earnings at metal processors across Asia.

Hindalco, part of metals-to-insurance Aditya Birla group, accepted a 25 per cent reduction in the fee it charges BHP Billiton Ltd. to process copper, its second-biggest product.

"Rupee appreciation, fall in refining charges and unrelenting cost push squeezed margins at both ends," Hindalco said.

The 10 percent gain in the rupee against the dollar over a year ago is also limiting earnings for producers. National Aluminium Company reported a 31 per cent decline in net income on Tuesday on lower aluminum prices and the gains in the rupee. The rupee averaged Rs 39.77 against the dollar in the quarter, compared with 44.15 the year before, exacerbating a drop in average aluminum prices.

Hindalco's sales rose 5.7 per cent to Rs 5,154 from Rs 4,872 crore.

Indian Aluminium Co, a subsidiary, was amalgamated with Hindalco with effect from April 1, 2007, and so the figures for the quarter were not strictly comparable to the year-ago period, the company said.

Shares of Hindalco lost 2.32 per cent to close at Rs 193.60 on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Wednesday.