Copyright Reuters
The benchmark three-month aluminium and copper rose 8.2% and 5.6% on-year during the quarter due to uncertainty around U.S. trade policies. Higher commodity prices tend to support selling prices and margins for mining companies. Sign up here. The Bhubaneswar-based company is India's largest producer of alumina, or aluminium oxide, which is used in the production of aluminium and also as a catalyst in petrochemical refining. Its consolidated profit came in at 14.3 billion rupees ($162.69 million) for the July-September period, up 36.7% from a year ago. Revenue from operations rose 7.3% to 42.92 billion rupees. NALCO's aluminium business, which contributes to more than half of overall revenue, grew nearly 6%. Its second business segment, chemicals, which produces caustic soda, hydrochloric acid and sodium hypochlorite, surged 7.7%. Expenses fell 3% to 25.49 billion rupees, mainly on lower fuel costs and employee benefit expenses. Revenue growth and drop in expenses aided EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) margin expansion. ($1 = 87.8950 Indian rupees) Reporting by Vijay Malkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair
