NALCO FY26: Ever-high aluminium prices lead to record profit, while bauxite & alumina sales drive revenue

Stock image for referential purposes only

National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), the Navratna CPSE under the Ministry of Mines, led by the Government of India, has achieved a milestone in its financial results for FY26, reporting record-breaking gains over past financial years alongside a strong operational performance.

NALCO’s annual net profit reached INR 58.16 billion (USD 612.7 million), growing 9.22 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) from INR 53.25 billion (USD 561.05 million) in FY25.

Annual revenue from operations stood at INR 178.43 billion (USD 1.88 billion), gaining the highest-ever revenue, up 6.28 per cent Y-o-Y over INR 167.88 billion (USD 1.77 billion) in FY25.

Explore: The most comprehensive and forward-looking industry-focused report — Global Bauxite & Alumina Market Forecast to 2036: Supply–Demand, Trade Flows & Price Outlook

Commenting on the annual figures, Shri Brijendra Pratap Singh, CMD of NALCO, stated, “Higher production volumes, favourable pricing, and our ability to effectively leverage market opportunities with strong operational discipline have driven this outstanding performance. Our continued focus on plant, people, and process efficiency has enabled us to consistently surpass targets.”

Fourth quarter (Q4) at a glance

Comparing Q4 2026 quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) with Q3 2026 shows that NALCO posted a net profit of INR 17.18 billion (USD 181 million) in Q4 2026, up 7 per cent from INR 16.01 billion (USD 168.68 million) in Q3 2026.  Q4 2026 and Q4 2025 results show a Y-o-Y dip in net profit as it went from INR 20.78 billion (USD 218.9 million) in Q4 2025 to INR 17.18 billion (USD 181 billion) in Q4 2026, reflecting a decline of 17.32 per cent. 

Revenue from operations reached INR 51.03 billion (USD 537.66 million), rising 7.86 per cent Q-o-Q from INR 47.31 billion (USD 498.47 million) in Q3 2026. Revenue from operations also continued in the downward trend as it climbed from INR 52.68 billion (USD 555 million) in Q4 2025 to INR 51.03 billion (USD 537.66 million) in Q4 2026, representing a 3.13 per cent increase.

Q-o-Q analysis through FY2026 

Analysis of the full financial year depicts NALCO in a steady growth trajectory.

Q4 – Net profit of INR 17.18 billion (USD 181 million); Revenue of INR 51.03 billion (USD 537.66 million) from operations

Q3 – Net profit of INR 16.01 billion (USD 175 million); Revenue of INR 40.98 billion (USD 445 million) from operations

Q2 – Net profit of INR 14.33 billion (USD 161.5 million) in Q2; Revenue of INR 42.92 billion (USD 484 million) from operations

Q1 – Net profit of INR 10.64 billion (USD 112 million); Revenue of INR 38.07 billion (USD 401 million) from operations

Q-o-Q net profit trend was up 7.3 per cent in Q4 from Q3, rising 11.72 per cent in Q3 from Q2 and gaining 34.68 per cent in Q2 from Q1.

Q-o-Q trend for revenue from operations was up 24.54 per cent in Q4 from Q3, declining 4.52 per cent in Q3 from Q2 and gaining 12.74 per cent in Q2 from Q1.

Aluminium prices – The profit driver?

As stated by Shri Singh, the “favourable pricing” of aluminium has played an essential role for NALCO.

The January-March quarter or Q4 2026 has witnessed the steepest hikes in aluminium prices owing to the Middle East conflict, which led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz as well as incidents like the Iranian missile strikes at the vital aluminium smelters of Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) and Aluminium Bahrain (Alba). As a ripple effect, these have driven up the London Metal Exchange (LME) aluminium prices, which soared to a four-year high at USD 3,685 per tonne on April 24, indicating mounting fear over an imminent supply crunch.

The rising trend of aluminium prices has largely contributed to the Q4 financial picture of NALCO, bringing an upswing in the primary metal prices, thereby channelling the net profit towards a Q-o-Q hike despite ongoing geopolitical tensions.

Don't miss out- Buyers are looking for your products on our B2B platform

Bauxite and alumina sales – Annual revenue drivers?

NALCO’s strong financial performance was reinforced by favourable aluminium and alumina prices, alongside tighter cost controls, operational efficiency, and ongoing capacity expansions.

NALCO achieved a stellar performance in its bauxite segment, with excavation touching 770.1 million tonnes, which rose 0.69 per cent Y-o-Y from the 764.8 million tonnes in FY25, reflecting strong operational efficiency in mining and logistics.

In the alumina segment, hydrate production reached 23.00 lakh tonnes, while calcined alumina output stood at 22.75 lakh tonnes. On the sales side, total alumina dispatches rose to 14.46 lakh tonnes, including 1.38 lakh tonnes catered to the domestic market.

Aluminium operations also marked a historic high, with cast metal production reaching 47.2 million tonnes. Metal sales climbed to 47.4 million tonnes, up 4 per cent Y-o-Y from 45.5 million tonnes in FY25. This has been supported by record domestic sales of 4.61 lakh tonnes.

The segment’s performance was further reinforced by robust power generation of 6,953 MU and coal output of 4 million tonnes.

What drove the rise in sales?

Sales are driven by market demand. The trend in demand and consumption of alumina and primary aluminium has seen a significant surge in the past year.

Global demand for smelter-grade alumina reached 142-146 million tonnes in 2025, a substantial hike from 2024. Primary aluminium demand surged Y-o-Y by 1.65 per cent from 72.7 million tonnes in 2024 to 73.9 million tonnes in 2025.

The demand grew in tandem in India. Smelter-grade alumina witnessed an upswing in demand, climbing remarkably by 15.43 per cent from 7.5–7.8 million tonnes in 2024 to 8.83 million tonnes in 2025.

Aluminium demand too, surged Y-o-Y to 5–5.5 million tonnes in 2025. Increasing 26.5 per cent from 4.1–4.2 million tonnes in 2024. Out of this total figure in 2025, demand for primary aluminium reached approximately 2.9 million tonnes, accounting for an estimated 55.24 per cent of the full count.

Growing in parallel with the global and domestic trend, NALCO’s total alumina sales soared to 1.5 million tonnes in 2025, out of which domestic sales accounted for 138,000 tonnes.

Similarly, the total primary aluminium sales reached 474,000 tonnes, with domestic sales taking up 461,000 tonnes, recording a Y-o-Y surge of 1.32 per cent from 455,000 tonnes in 2024 and overall, the highest-ever domestic sales of the metal.

NALCO’s expansion plans

NALCO has outlined a multi-stage expansion strategy across its aluminium value chain, led by a proposed brownfield expansion of its smelter at Angul. The company plans to increase smelting capacity by around 50,000 tonnes per annum, nearly doubling its current annual output of 46,000 tonnes. The project is currently at the Expression of Interest (EOI) stage, where technology licensors are being identified.

Alongside this, NALCO is advancing upstream capacity to support its downstream ambitions. The development of the Pottangi bauxite mines is expected to add approximately 3 to 3.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) to its mining capacity, strengthening raw material security.

In terms of refining, the company is adding a fifth stream at its Damanjodi alumina refinery, which will increase capacity by about 1 MTPA and is relatively more progressed, with commissioning targeted in the near term.

These expansion plans are driven by rising domestic aluminium demand, which has been growing at a steady pace, and align with NALCO’s strategy to reinforce its integrated operations from mining to critical mineral production.

With these projects in the pipeline and soon to be operational, NALCO’s FY27 calendar projects a strong growth outlook with considerable production ramp-up to reinforce the Indian aluminium value chain.

Must read: Key industry individuals share their thoughts on the trending topics