Aluminium

Strong Q2 performance, improved earnings visibility keeps analysts bullish on the counter

Ahead of the budget, recycling industry bodyAI has urged the government to remove the import duty on aluminium scrap, saying it will help promote sustainability in the industry. According to the Material Recycling Association of India (MRAI), the recycling process of aluminium scrap emits only 0.3 million tonnes (MT) of Co2 on per tonne of production compared to 14 tonnes of carbon emissions on the production of 1 MT of aluminium through smelters route which involves maintaining of coal-based capacities for power supply. "Among the key challenges faced by the Indian aluminium recycling industry is 2.5 per cent import duty on aluminium scrap. It is a key raw material for aluminium recycling and the government should make it to zero until the quality material (scrap) is available in sufficient quantity in the domestic market,"AI said in a letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the full Union Budget for the financial year 2024-25

Aluminium producers have made a plea to the government to increase import duty on aluminium scrap to 7.5 per cent from present 2.5 per cent in the upcoming budget. They have also sought maintaining the duty on primary aluminium imports at the current rate of 7.5 per cent or a marginal rise to 10 per cent. The move would discourage the influx of sub-standard materials and safeguard the domestic industry which provides livelihood to over 10 lakh people. In its representation to the finance minister, the Aluminium Association of India (AAI) has asked the government to control imports by fixing scrap import duty at par with that on primary aluminium, i.e. 7.5 per cent. AAI has also called for maintaining the duty on primary aluminium imports at the current rate of 7.5 per cent or a marginal rise to 10 per cent, encompassing downstream products as well, in order to protect the domestic market from inundation of cheap imports. Despite sufficient domestic production, primary aluminium .

Mining giant Vedanta Ltd on Wednesday reported a rise in production of aluminium, zinc, iron ore and steel in the June quarter. However, the production of mined metal at overseas and oil and gas dropped during the quarter. In a filing to the BSE, the company said the aluminium output grew 3 per cent to 5,96,000 tonnes in the first quarter over the year-ago period, Vedanta said in a filing to BSE. At Zinc India, the saleable metal output grew to 2,62,000 tonnes over 2,60,000 tones. While at Zinc International the mined metal output dropped to 38,000 tonnes, over 68,000 tonnes in the first quarter of FY24. Meanwhile, oil and gas output dropped 17 per cent to 112,400 average daily gross operated production (boepd) during the quarter from 134,900 boepd a year earlier. The production of saleable iron ore rose to 1.3 million tonnes over 1.2 million tonnes in the year-ago period. The total saleable steel production rose 10 per cent to 3,56,000 tonnes and power sales rose 13 per cent to

The production of iron ore increased 4 per cent to 26 million tonnes (MT) and the output of limestone also went up marginally by 2.1 per cent to 39.3 million tonnes in April. Iron ore and limestone together account for about 80 per cent of the total mineral production by value. In the first month of 2024-25, there is a steady increase in the production of these minerals as compared to the production in the corresponding month last year, the mines ministry said in a statement. Production of iron ore has increased from 25 million tonnes during April 2023 to 26 million tonnes during April 2024, registering a growth of 4 per cent. Production of limestone has increased from 38.5 MT during April 2023 to 39.3 MT in April 2024. The production of aluminium during April rose 1 per cent to 3.42 lakh tonnes (LT) over 3.39 LT production during April last fiscal. "Continued growth in production of iron ore and limestone in the current financial year reflects the robust demand conditions in the

Metal stocks top performers: Here's why metal stocks were in demand on the Dalal Street on Wednesday.

Analysts maintained consensus 'buy' rating on Hindalco though the stock lost over 12 per cent post Q3 on Tuesday, mainly due to the sharp increase in Novelis' capex, and ended flat on Wednesday

National Aluminium Company Ltd on Tuesday reported almost two-fold rise in consolidated profit to Rs 470.61 crore for the quarter ended on December 31, 2023. The company had posted a consolidated profit of Rs 256.32 crore in the October-December quarter of FY2022-23, Nalco said in a filing to BSE. Total income during the quarter under review rose to Rs 3,397.87 crore from Rs 3,357.71 crore in the year-ago period. The company's board has approved the second interim dividend of Rs 2 per share on the paid-up equity share capital of Rs 918.32 crore for the current fiscal. National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco) is a Navratna PSU. It is one of the largest integrated bauxite-alumina-aluminium-power complex in the country.

India is already the world's second biggest aluminium producer and third biggest consumer, with demand set to double over the next decade, Nilesh Koul, an executive with Hindalco Industries

Meanwhile, Novelis, as subsidiary of Hindalco, expects global demand for aluminum beverage can sheet to grow at a 3 per cent compounded annual growth rate from 2022 to 2031

Hindalco Industries, the world's largest aluminium rolling and recycling company, on Tuesday said it has signed a technology partnership agreement with Italy-based Metra to manufacture high-speed aluminium rail coaches. The Aditya Birla group company in a statement said the partnership is aimed at sharing extrusion and fabrication technology for building high-speed aluminium rail coaches. For the last six decades, Metra has been known for its cutting-edge knowhow in aluminium extrusion, machining and welding, and the collaboration is a pivotal move to bring world-class technology currently limited to Europe, China, Japan and a few other countries to the domestic market. "We are joining hands with Metra to introduce a new era of aluminium extrusions for passenger trains in the country," said Satish Pai, Managing Director of Hindalco. "This is in line with our capability building for aluminium in commercial vehicles, freight wagons, electric vehicles and passenger train application

On August 30, the laser-induced breakdown spectroscope instrument onboard the Pragyan rover confirmed the presence of sulphur on the lunar surface near the South Pole

Hindalco will provide profiles, sheets and plates of its unique aluminium alloys, along with fabrication and welding expertise, and Texmaco will bring in technical expertise

Earnings of domestic non-ferrous metal industry players remain under pressure in the ongoing fiscal amid weak demand, according to Icra. Due to global macroeconomic uncertainties and weaker-than-earlier expected recovery in Chinese demand, international prices of the three non-ferrous metals viz. aluminium, copper and zinc fell by 11 per cent, 8 per cent and 30 per cent, respectively, in the last six months, the rating agency said in a report. "The earnings of the industry would remain under pressure in FY2024, after a lacklustre performance in the last fiscal. Significant metal price corrections remain the key headwind affecting the margins, with no immediate relief in sight," it said. The moderation in earnings, combined with the committed expansion plans of the players, is expected to increase the industry's leverage in FY2024. However, the debt protection metrics remain adequate in the base case scenario and, therefore, ICRA maintains a stable outlook on the sector. Global ...

Soft prices of commodities including metals is weighing on investor sentiment

The price of aluminium is likely to go up in the medium term due to factors like surge in demand, Crisil Research on Tuesday said. The price of the metal fell 45 per cent from the March 2022 peak to around 2,400 dollar per tonne now due to factors like lockdown in China. "Aluminium prices have likely bottomed out and should rise over the medium term, supported by two structural drivers: limited smelter capacity additions and uptick in demand," it said in a statement. Limited capacity additions over the next five years will be crucial to pick up in the prices of aluminium, it said. The demand for aluminium is likely to see a structural growth over the medium term on account of global green investments, including electric vehicles, solar panels and renewable energy grids, most of which have high intensity of aluminium use. "Green investments across major economies will lead to a strong uptick in demand for aluminium, but global capacity addition is expected to fall from 20 MT during

Company sees consumption rising as electric vehicles increase and light metals become more important

In the aluminium sector, as things stand, Hindalco and Nalco are the only players that are completely integrated -- from bauxite to alumina to aluminium

India is a net importer of alumina. But the Adani refinery is likely to make the country a net exporter

Interest rate hikes, however, remain a pet peeve