Hindalco posts Q1 loss of Rs 40 crore

Hindalco Industries posted a standalone net loss of Rs 40 crore in Q1 June 2020 as against a net profit of Rs 23 crore in Q1 June 2019.

Revenue from operations stood at Rs 7,420 crore in Q1 June 2020, declining 26% from Rs 10,055 crore in Q1 June 2019. The company posted a pre-tax loss of Rs 66 crore in Q1 June 2020 as compared to Rs 35 crore of profit before tax in Q1 June 2019. The result was announced during market hours today, 14 August 2020.

On a consolidated basis, Hindalco posted a net loss of Rs 709 crore in Q1 June 2020 as against net profit of Rs 1,063 crore in Q1 June 2019. Revenue from operations declined 16% to Rs 25,283 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019. EBITDA fell 37.41% to Rs 2,359 crore during the period under review. The consolidated net debt to EBITDA ratio was 3.83x on 30 June 2020 versus 2.61x on 31 March 2020.

Commenting on the results, Satish Pai, managing director, Hindalco Industries said, "I am pleased at our ability to forge ahead despite the weak post-COVID market scenario. All our Aluminium India smelters operated at more than 90% capacity during the lockdown. We maintained our sales volumes, with exports accounting for nearly 80% of sales. This performance led to our Indian Aluminium Business recording an industry-high EBITDA margin. Novelis also delivered an industry-high EBITDA per ton, amidst a challenging business environment, partly due to strong contribution by Aleris. Novelis' automotive customers across regions are trending upwards, towards reaching pre-pandemic production levels, with record automotive shipments in China. We are seeing green shoots both in domestic and international markets and we are ready to handle the rise in demand."

With reference to Covid-19, the company said that it has been mitigating the impact of the pandemic through planned initiatives, along with strict precautionary actions to protect its people and operations. All the aluminium smelters and major refineries operated at near full-scale. Its downstream plants operated at optimal capacity to meet existing market demand. The Indian aluminium operations exported nearly 80% of its production and maintained its sales volumes. To keep its cash position strong against market volatility, the company implemented various cost-saving measures by optimizing expenditure. When lockdown restrictions started easing in phases, Hindalco exercised utmost caution and continued to operate its plants with minimal staff and stringent safety measures in place. Early in the quarter, Novelis had had to temporarily shut down some of its facilities to align with customer demand and reduce operating costs. However, as many customers resumed production in May, Novelis was able to safely and reliably ramp back production to meet increasing order levels. Today, all of its plants are operational and many are running at almost full capacity utilization.

Shares of Hindalco Industries were down 0.44% at Rs 182.70 on BSE. The scrip traded in the range of Rs 180.65 to Rs 189.45 so far during the day.

Hindalco Industries, the metals flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group, is the world's largest aluminium rolling and recycling company, and a major copper player. It is also one of Asia's largest producers of primary aluminium.

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