Nalco net slumps 30% to Rs 593 cr in 2012-13

National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco) profit dipped by 30.2 per cent to Rs 593 crore in the year ended March 2013, compared with Rs 850 crore profit made in the previous fiscal, as falling metal prices and increased production costs affected the bottom line.

"The net profit of the company was Rs 593 crore during the year as compared to Rs 850 crore in last fiscal, due to reduced aluminium prices in London Metal Exchange (LME) and high input costs," the company said in a statement.

The company's bottom line has been hit by weak metal prices globally and problems in coal supply. It has recently announced to cut daily metal output by 25 per cent due to coal supply problem at its Angul smelter.

As per audited financial results for the year, the aluminium maker posted a net sales turnover of Rs 6809 crore, up 4.75 per cent from Rs 6500 crore achieved in the previous fiscal because of higher production and sale of alumina.

During the year, the company achieved highest-ever bauxite production of 54.19 lakh tonnes, against the previous best of 50.03 lakh tonnes achieved in 2011-12. Alumina production was 18.02 lakh tonnes during the year, an all-time high, against the previous best of 16.87 lakh tonnes in 2011-12.

But during the year, metal production took a beating and slipped marginally to 4.13 lakh tonnes against 4.03 lakh tonnes in previous year, due to planned shutdown of pot shells of the smelter.

The net power generation by company's captive power plant was 6,076 million units.

In terms of sales, the company sold 9.85 lakh tonnes of alumina hydrate, against 8.43 lakh tonnes in 2011-12. Aluminium export also increased to 1.44 lakh tonnes last year from 0.98 lakh tonnes in the previous fiscal.