Sterlite net jumps 38%

Sterlite Industries (India) announced 38 per cent growth in net profit on a 33 per cent rise in net sales in the June quarter, compared with numbers it posted a year ago. The company officials said the improved performance was due to higher sales of aluminium and zinc as well as better cost management in the period under review. They said the growth in the metal prices at the London Stock Exchange was partially offset by the appreciating rupee. However, the copper business was down due to lower income from refinery. Net profit rose to Rs 1,682.9 crore in the June quarter (Rs 1,220.9 crore). Net sales went up from Rs 6139.1 crore to Rs 4,603 crore. In a press statement, the company said its aluminium business recorded sales of Rs 1,055 crore during the June quarter. However, the statement did not provide the comparable numbers. EBIDTA of the aluminiun business stood at Rs 417.9 crore. It said the aluminium production went up to 88,000 tonne (67, 000 tonnes). Sterlite�s zinc business recorded 22 per cent growth in sales to Rs 1,969.9 crore (Rs 1,609.4 crore) . EBIDTA of the zinc operations stood at Rs 1,705.8 crore, up 33 per cent, compared with Rs 1,282.7 crore in the previous comparable period. Production of zinc mined metal content went up marginally from 131,000 tonnes to 134,000 tonnes, while that of refined zinc increased from 82,000 tonnes to 93,000 tonnes. The copper business recorded a down turn. Sterlite, the country�s largest copper maker, recorded 10 per cent reduction in net profit on lower income from refining concentrate into purer metal. Its production of copper mined metal content went down to 6,000 tonnes from 8,000 tonnes. The copper business recorded EBITDA of Rs 3,825 crore in the June quarter, 15 per cent down from Rs 4,488 crore in the comparable period a year ago. Processing fees, known as treatment and refining charges, usually fall at times of concentrate shortages and can determine smelter profitability and production.