NALCO's H1 profit after tax rises 54 pc to Rs 3 837 crore

Bhubaneswar, Nov 13 (PTI) State-run National Aluminium Company Ltd (NALCO) on Friday reported a 54 per cent rise in profit after tax to Rs 3,837 crore in the first half of 2026-27, its best half-yearly financial performance since inception.

    Addressing a press conference, NALCO Chairman and Managing Director Brijendra Pratap Singh said the company is advancing major expansion plans in Odisha, including increasing bauxite and alumina production capacity and nearly doubling its aluminium smelting capacity at Angul.

    He said the company's total income during the first half of the fiscal year stood at an all-time high of Rs 11,143 crore, registering a growth of 33 per cent over the corresponding period of the previous year.

    Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased 50 per cent to Rs 5,539 crore, while profit before tax rose 55 per cent to Rs 5,160 crore, he said.

    The Navratna public sector enterprise under the Ministry of Mines also recorded its highest-ever half-yearly aluminium cast metal production of 2.35 lakh tonnes.

    Responding to reports on possible shift of NALCO's aluminium smelter from Angul to Andhra Pradesh, Singh clarified that there was no such proposal.

    He reiterated the company's commitment to expanding its operations in Odisha, including the proposed brownfield smelter expansion at Angul.

    Outlining the expansion roadmap, Singh said operationalisation of the Pottangi Bauxite Mines, expected in the next two to three months, would increase NALCO's bauxite production from around 7 million tonnes to over 10 million tonnes.

    The commissioning of the fifth stream of the alumina refinery at Damanjodi would raise its production capacity from 2.1 million tonnes to 3.1 million tonnes, he said.

    The proposed 0.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) brownfield expansion of the aluminium smelter at Angul, supported by a technology licensing arrangement with Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), would nearly double NALCO's existing smelting capacity from 0.46 MTPA to around 1 MTPA.

    Singh said the project is targeted for commissioning by December 2030.

    A 1,080 MW captive thermal power plant is also planned through a 50:50 joint venture with NLC India Ltd to ensure power security and support the expanded smelter, he said.

    Singh said Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (KABIL), a joint venture in which the company holds a 40 per cent stake, has secured five lithium exploration blocks in Argentina's Catamarca province.

    Preliminary non-invasive exploration has indicated the presence of lithium, with drilling operations expected to begin shortly and exploration targeted for completion by the end of 2027, he said.

    A pilot plant is also planned to assess lithium grades and establish a process for producing lithium carbonate, he said, adding that KABIL is exploring opportunities in Argentina's Salta province and potential equity partnerships in producing lithium mines in Argentina, Chile and Australia.

    Singh said NALCO was also pursuing the recovery of critical minerals from industrial waste.

    A pilot plant to extract gallium from red mud is being developed at Damanjodi in collaboration with the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and other institutions, he said.

    Initiatives are also underway to recover rare earth elements, scandium, alumina and ferro-titanium from red mud and fly ash in collaboration with research institutions.

    Singh said NALCO aims to source 25-30 per cent of its total power requirement from green energy by 2030 through renewable energy procurement, rooftop solar and wind power initiatives.

    The company is also adopting artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve operational efficiency, he said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)