National Aluminium Company (Nalco), second-biggest producer of aluminum is expected to increase the metal prices by Rs 2,000 - 3,000 a tonne with effect from April, in sync with firming global prices.
The price hike was essential to guarantee parity with import prices and to pass on the rise in input costs. Dollar weakness has also contributed to the rise in aluminum prices. At the London Metal Exchange (LME), aluminum is currently hovering at around $2,570 a tonne.
The existing global production of aluminum stands at 39-40 million tonne per annum and demand also stands at around the same level. Meanwhile, some smelters have been closed in China in the recent past leading to firming up of prices. This small demand-supply mismatch is only a temporary phenomenon as with the firming up of the price, the closed smelters have again resumed operation. The company also raised prices in January, but corrected them in the third week of the month itself as the global price slackened. It again raised the price by Rs 6,000 to around Rs 1.21 lakh a tonne in February, but reduced the rate by Rs 2,500 per tonne in March.
Nalco expected to clock an over 23% rise in net profit in the current fiscal to Rs 1,005 crore on higher metal prices. The company, which reported Rs 814.22 crore net profits in FY10, aims to clock Rs 1,098.24 crore net profit next fiscal and Rs 1,252 crore in 2012-13. Nalco, in which the government owns an around 87% stake, also hopes that its net sales will go up by 14.27% to Rs 5,777.31 crore in FY11 against Rs 5,055.66 crore in FY10.
No comments:
Post a Comment