Hindustan Zinc (HZL), in which mining major Vedanta holds a majority stake, on Friday posted an 11.7% fall in consolidated net profit at Rs 2,583 crore for the quarter ended March 31, impacted by rising commodity prices.

The company also appointed interim chief financial officer (CFO) Sandeep Modi as the CFO, effective Friday.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 2,928 crore for the same period a year ago.

During the quarter under review, the company’s revenue from operations fell 3.85% to Rs 8,281 crore from Rs 8,613 crore recorded during the same period a year ago, HZL said in a stock exchange update.

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While the net profit was above street estimates, revenues fell below expectations. A consensus estimate by Bloomberg had expected the company to post a net profit of Rs 2,547 crore for the reporting quarter on revenues of Rs 8,560 crore.

HZL’s Q4 net profit was hit by a lower Ebitda, which was partly offset by lower tax expense (effective tax rate of 26.3% for the quarter). The revenue was impacted by lower metal and silver prices, which were partly offset by higher volumes and favourable forex rates, while Ebitda was down 16% led by lower revenues and increased cost from input commodity inflation, it said.

The government holds a 29.54% stake in HZL, which was privatised more than two decades ago, and Vedanta holds a 64.92% stake.

During the quarter, HZL’s total sales fell 3% to Rs 8,509 crore from Rs 8,797 crore posted during the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Its zinc sales fell 9% to Rs 5,861 crore (from Rs 6,414 crore), while that of lead rose 12% to Rs 1,050 crore and silver was up 17% to Rs 1,217 crore.

For the quarter, HZL posted its best-ever production of mined metal at 301 kilotonne (kt) and refined metal at 269 kt.

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HZL also reported record annual refined metal production at 1,032 kt, a 6.7% rise from FY22 and clocked the best-ever full-year integrated zinc production at 821 kt (a 5.8% rise), while integrated lead production was at 211 kt (a 10.2% rise).

“This year saw us accomplish the superlative milestone of crossing the 1-million tonne metal mark, which is a true reflection of our persistent focus on volume delivery and operational efficiency,” HZL CEO Arun Misra said, adding that the company is now ranked as the fifth-largest silver producer globally.

During the year, the company paid a total Rs 31,901 crore as dividends.