Hindustan Zinc Q2 profit dips 6.7% to Rs 1,940 cr due to higher expenses

Vedanta group firm Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL) on Tuesday reported a 6.7 per cent drop in net profit to Rs 1,940 crore for the quarter ended on September 30, 2020, due to high expenses.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 2,081 crore in the year-ago period, HZL said in a filing to BSE.

However, total income of the company increased to Rs 6,050 crore in the July-September period from Rs 5,101 crore in the year-ago period.

Total expenses of the company during the quarter increased to Rs 3,428 crore from Rs 3,014 crore in the year-ago period.

Commenting on the results, company's CEO Arun Misra said, "On the back of streamlined operations, we continue to deliver record volumes despite the challenges posed by the pandemic. We are setting up Hindustan Zinc for its next phase of growth and are confident to deliver superior value to our stakeholders in a sustainable manner."

The company's CFO Swayam Saurabh said that HZL's operational discipline and focused cost optimisation programmes leveraging technology and digitalisation are driving its cost lower and is evident in its financial performance.

The company's mined metal production for the quarter was up 9 per cent Q-o-Q to 2,38,000 tonnes on account of higher ore production. Mined metal production was driven by higher ore output resulting from better mining planning and effective targetting with increased use of technology.

Integrated metal output for the quarter was 237,000 tonnes, up 13 per cent from a year-ago, it said.

"Due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions including visa restriction of Chinese nationals, commissioning of Fumer plant at Chanderiya is delayed and efforts are ongoing for an early commissioning," the company said.

As on September 30, 2020, the company's gross cash and cash equivalents was Rs 27,631 crore.

Shares of the company closed at Rs 222.95 apiece on BSE, up 0.97 per cent.