By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, February 12, 2016 : The Indian government run aluminium major, National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), on Friday reported net profit of Rs 133 crore in the third quarter ending December last, as against Rs 226 crore in the preceding quarter and Rs. 354 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal.

The Company attributed severe market slowdown in the global aluminium industry as the main reason for drastic fall in the profit.

The Nalco Board of Management met here on Friday and reviewed financial results for the 3rd quarter of the financial year 2015-16.

The net sales turnover in the 3rd Quarter was Rs.1616 crore.

“Even though the average London Metal Exchange [LME] up to Q3 in 2015-16 has come down by 300 US dollars per ton of metal approximately, i.e. about 17% lower realization, the dip in turnover has been limited at the level of 11% due to company’s focus on production and productivity. Given the slump, it is heartening to note that NALCO has registered profits, in all the three quarters of the present fiscal, despite entire global aluminium industry reeling under severe market slowdown and many companies reporting loss”, a Company statement said.

The Navratna PSU, under Ministry of Mines, Govt. of India is the country’s leading manufacturer and exporter of alumina and aluminium.

The net profit for the 9 months of this fiscal is pegged at Rs 523 crore, against the corresponding figure of Rs. 967 crore for the previous fiscal. The net sales for the 9 months of the fiscal are pegged at Rs.4866 crore as compared to Rs. 5483 crore in the corresponding period of the last financial year.

Nalco has achieved growth in production in all fronts. During the first nine months of the current fiscal, NALCO achieved production of 45.74 lakh tonnes of bauxite, as compared to 43.04 lakh tons achieved during the comparable period of the previous fiscal. The company produced 14.37 lakh tons of alumina hydrate, against 14.24 akh tons achieved in the corresponding period of the previous financial year. Metal production was 2.76 lakh tons, against 2.44 lakh tons registered during the comparable nine months of the previous fiscal.

The net power generated during the period was 4351 million units, 3858 million units achieved in the corresponding period of the previous year. NALCO is also fast emerging as a green power producer. The company has generated 134 million units of wind power during the first 9 months of this fiscal, the statement added.