Hindalco: Adjusting to the new environment; metal volumes may stagnate

Capex cut, focus on profitability, healthy balance sheet should help overcome medium-term hurdles

Hindalco’s recent investor meet offered key takeaways for the non-ferrous metals major and for the global commodities industry.

The company expects domestic aluminium as well as copper demand to double over the next decade to 9 million tonnes per annum (TPA) and 2 million TPA, respectively. But, in the near to medium term, metal volumes will stagnate. Energy intensity for aluminium and copper production and downstream is very high, so the company’s access to coal and its captive power capacity are critical. 
 

The firm has decided to focus on value addition and customer solutions to improve margins and thus