Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL) reported a 21 per cent year-on-year drop in its fourth quarter net profit at Rs 2,038 crore, hit by depressed zinc prices globally as demand is growing at a slower pace than supply.
The company said its revenue from operations fell 12.02 per cent YoY to Rs 7,285 crore for the fourth quarter compared with Rs 8,281 crore in the same quarter last year.
Hindustan Zinc said the figures of the quarter that ended March 31, 2024 and corresponding quarter ended March 31, 2023 were the balancing figures between audited figures for the full financial year ended March 31, 2024 and March 31, 2023 and nine months unaudited published figures up to December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022 respectively.
The consolidated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was Rs 3,637 crore for the quarter under review, compared to Rs 4,208 crore in the same quarter last year, a 14 per cent fall on-year.
The fall in revenue is due to significantly lower zinc & lead prices and lower lead volume, partly offset by increased zinc & silver volumes, silver prices and favourable exchange rates, the company said.
The prices of essential industrial metals such as copper, aluminium, zinc, and lead have surged significantly since April due to concerns regarding supply limitations. However, price increases resulting from production cuts are unlikely to be sustained until there is a significant uptick in zinc demand and the market shifts its focus away from anticipated surpluses of the metal.
“Despite the plunging metal prices, HZL has consistently sustained its margin at a steady 47 per cent by recording its fifth consecutive quarter of sustained cost reduction, clocking the lowest cost in last 3 years,” the company’s chief financial officer Sandeep Modi.
Vedanta held 2,74,31,54,310 shares or 64.92 per cent stake in Hindustan Zinc as on March 31.
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