Money Control
Aluminium prices to hover between $2100-2300/t in FY13: Nalco
Edited by : AL CIRCLE
2 min read
State-owned National Aluminium Company (Nalco) has a "comfortable" coal inventory at an average of 18-19 days and should be able to manage the upcoming monsoon season, BL Bagra, CMD and Director (Finance) told CNBC-TV18.
Monsoon is typically a slack period for metal companies in general. The PSU had faced coal shortage during September-October last year, but the supply has been "fairly satisfactory" since last November, Bagra said.
Nalco's March quarter net sales rose 9% to Rs 6,500.27 crore, but net profit grew less than 8% to Rs 282.10 crore as high fuel costs and lower realisations on aluminium sales crimped margins. Gross aluminum sales were up only about 3% to Rs 4,968.05 crore
According to Bagra, aluminium prices will remain between USD 2,100 and USD 2,300 per tonne in the current fiscal year. "With the premium of USD 150, we feel it will not give us any kind of impact in the current year’s results," he says.
Meanwhile, there are talks that the company may help out the cash-starved government with part of its Rs 5,500 crore cash surplus. However, Bagra says there is no such plan either to buyback shares or pay a hefty dividend, currently.
"We have lined up some growth projects, which will need a lot of cash in current year, as well as next year," he told CNBC-TV18.
Nalco plans to invest Rs 57,903 crore by 2020 on expansion, which includes two large aluminium smelters in India and abroad.
Monsoon is typically a slack period for metal companies in general. The PSU had faced coal shortage during September-October last year, but the supply has been "fairly satisfactory" since last November, Bagra said.
Nalco's March quarter net sales rose 9% to Rs 6,500.27 crore, but net profit grew less than 8% to Rs 282.10 crore as high fuel costs and lower realisations on aluminium sales crimped margins. Gross aluminum sales were up only about 3% to Rs 4,968.05 crore
According to Bagra, aluminium prices will remain between USD 2,100 and USD 2,300 per tonne in the current fiscal year. "With the premium of USD 150, we feel it will not give us any kind of impact in the current year’s results," he says.
Meanwhile, there are talks that the company may help out the cash-starved government with part of its Rs 5,500 crore cash surplus. However, Bagra says there is no such plan either to buyback shares or pay a hefty dividend, currently.
"We have lined up some growth projects, which will need a lot of cash in current year, as well as next year," he told CNBC-TV18.
Nalco plans to invest Rs 57,903 crore by 2020 on expansion, which includes two large aluminium smelters in India and abroad.
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