Hindalco hits a high, now in red

Hindalco is pretty volatile today. In the morning session the stock hit a new 52-week high at Rs.180.50 and by afternoon, it slipped into the red. It is currently down some 1% at Rs,169 levels – mainly profit booking coming in at the higher levels.

The stock was thrilled to bits with the company’s very good performance for Q2FY17.  The company posted a jaw-dropping 258% (YoY) rise in net profit at Rs.440 crore on a flat rise in total income at Rs.9562 crore. Total costs were down 5% led by lower power & fuel costs and lower outgo on excise duty. Copper revenue was down 9% at Rs.463 crore and this was offset by a 10% rise in aluminium revenue at Rs.4930 crore.

This in turn helped the EBITDA, which was up 88% at Rs.1156 crore while margins doubled up from 6.4% to 12.1%. The company also reported an exceptional gain of Rs.85 crore during the quarter. Interest outgo remains pretty high at Rs.594 crore but YoY it has come down 5%.