Hindalco Q3 profit rises 7.5 percent

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Aluminium and copper producer Hindalco Industries Ltd on Thursday posted a 7.5 percent rise in quarterly profit, helped by higher volumes and realisations in both businesses.

Net income for the quarter ended Dec. 31, Hindalco's fiscal third, rose to 3.59 billion rupees ($57.52 million) from 3.34 billion rupees a year earlier, the flagship company of the Aditya Birla conglomerate said in a statement.

Net sales rose 17.6 percent in the quarter to 84.72 billion rupees.

Analysts, on average, expected the company to post a net profit of 4.47 billion rupees, according to Thomson Reuters data.

The company said while coal availability was impacting the pace of ramp-up in its new aluminium projects, it was looking for a faster resolution after the upcoming coal auctions.

Hindalco shares were trading up 1 percent, while the broader Mumbai market was down 0.23 in afternoon trade on Thursday.

($1 = 62.4125 rupees)

(Reporting by Aman Shah in Mumbai; Editing by Anupama Dwivedi)