Hindustan Zinc (HZL), in which Indian mining major Vedanta (VEDL) holds a majority stake, has posted a 35.5% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,729 crore for the September quarter, missing Street estimates. In comparison, HZL had posted a net profit of Rs 2,680 crore a year ago. A consensus estimate by Bloomberg analysts expected the firm to post a consolidated net profit of Rs 2,008 crore.
Revenues fell 18.5% to Rs 6,791 crore from Rs 8,336 crore a year ago, HZL said in a statement.
“HZL witnessed significant milestone achievements in its expansion efforts during the quarter. I am pleased to share the commissioning of our Fumer plant, Rajpura Dariba concentrator and Zinc Alloy facility ensuring a more sustainable, circular and efficient operations. Catalysing growth, our plants and assets are also geared up to maximise performance,” CEO Arun Misra said.
“With delivery of steady operational performance in first half of the year and ramped up facilities, we are confident of delivering a standout financial year,” he added.
The company, a producer of zinc, lead and silver, mined 252 kilo tonne (kt) of metals for the quarter, down 1.4% on a year-on-year basis and 2% sequentially, mainly due to lower ore production at Rampura Agucha and Kayad mines. In the first half of the fiscal, its mined metal production stood at 509 kt, marginally up y-o-y on account of higher ore production largely at Rampura Agucha supported by better overall metal grades.
HZL also reiterated its earlier guidance for FY24.
The company expects to mine between 1,075 and 1,100 kt of metal during the year, while its production of refined metal would be in the range of 1,050-1,075 kt. Saleable silver production is projected to be between 725-750 metric tonne (MT). The cost of zinc production in FY24 is expected to be in between $1,125 and $1,175 per MT. Project capex for the year is expected to be in the range of $175-200 million, it added.