In early morning trading today, shares of NALCO, a PSU company involved in the manufacturing and sales of alumina and aluminum, surged 6.1% to a historic high of ₹206.30 per share. This increase was fueled by the company’s strong performance for the fourth quarter and the entire fiscal year (FY24).
NALCO shares, The company announced on Monday that its consolidated profit for the March quarter increased by 101% year over year to ₹996.74 crore. This was mostly due to a notable decrease in expenses, which decreased by 14% year over year to ₹2,720 crore in Q4. This is in sharp contrast to the net profit of ₹495 crore that was recorded during the same time last year.
With a PAT of ₹1,988 crore for FY24, it reported a 38.63% rise over the PAT of ₹1,434 crore for the previous fiscal year.
The company’s revenue from operations decreased 1.6% year over year in the March quarter to ₹3,663 crore, while for the entire fiscal year, revenues decreased 7.5% year over year to ₹13,399 crore.
The company’s shares have been on a bullish trajectory over the last six months, rising from ₹92 a share to the current trading price of ₹201, a multi-bagger rally of 118%.
The noteworthy increase in prices of aluminum worldwide is ascribed to supply interruptions and the recovery of the Chinese economy.
On January 7, 1981, NALCO was a Schedule “A” Navratna CPSE. Known for being one of the nation’s largest integrated Bauxite-Alumina-Aluminum-Power Complexes, it is presently run with 51.28% of its paid-up equity capital held by the Government of India.
According to its official website, the company runs its captive Panchpatmali Bauxite Mines to supply the pit-head alumina refinery in Damanjodi, in the District of Koraput in Odisha, as well as the aluminum smelter & captive power plant in Angul.
The company has strategically formed a joint venture with the Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) under the name Angul Aluminium Park Pvt Ltd (AAPPL). With this program, the aluminum industry’s value chain will be further enhanced by supporting ancillary, upstream, and downstream items.
The government revealed in a news release that Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL), a joint venture between NALCO, Hindustan Copper, and Mineral Exploration, inked a contract with CAMYEN SE of Argentina in January to explore and develop five lithium mines. KABIL was established in 2019 with the goal of obtaining key minerals from foreign suppliers, including cobalt and lithium.
With this arrangement, the Indian government launched its first-ever exploration and mining venture for lithium. Permission to commence exploration and development across five lithium brine blocks in Catamarca, Argentina, was given to KABIL.
As a vital mineral for the energy transition, lithium is extremely important since it is the main ingredient in lithium-ion batteries, which are used in electric cars and battery energy storage systems.
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