India's NALCO posts quarterly profit drop on alumina softness

HindalCo Industries

30/04/2026 11:30

April 30 (Reuters) - India's state-owned National Aluminium Company (NALCO) NALU.NS reported a 16.6% fall in fourth‑quarter profit on Thursday, as higher costs and weaker alumina prices weighed on earnings.

The company is India's largest producer of alumina, or aluminium oxide, used in the production of aluminium and as a catalyst in petrochemical refining.

Net profit fell to 17.22 billion rupees ($181.02 million) in the quarter ended March 31, from 20.67 billion rupees a year earlier.

Revenue from operations declined 5% to 50.13 billion rupees.

Expenses rose 10% to 28.98 billion rupees, partly due to higher raw material and operating costs.

Analysts expected weaker alumina prices to limit margins at the company's alumina unit, despite support from firm aluminium prices, which rose on global supply disruptions.

Chinese domestic alumina prices fell about 5.5% quarter-on-quarter in the March quarter, as escalating U.S.-Israel tensions with Iran since late February weighed on demand from China, the world's largest consumer, according to S&P Global.

Revenue from the firm's second-biggest segment, chemicals, fell nearly 38%.

Rival Vedanta VDAN.NS reported a 92.3% rise in profit on Wednesday, while Hindalco Industries HALC.NS is yet to report.

($1 = 95.1275 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Devika Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Sonia Cheema)

 ((Devika.MadhusudhananNair@thomsonreuters.com;))