Madras Aluminium 2Q Net Pft Dn 90% As Raw Material Costs Rise

MUMBAI, Oct 17, 2008 (Dow Jones Commodities News via Comtex) --Madras Aluminium Company Ltd. (504580.BY) Friday said its second-quarter net profit dropped 90% from the year earlier, reflecting high raw material costs and a one-time provision. Net profit for the July-September period fell to INR27.5 million, from INR2.88 billion a year earlier. "Profitability for the quarter has been impacted mainly due to higher costs of imported coal and other inputs," the London-listed Vedanta Resources (VED.LN) unit said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange. Net sales for the period rose marginally to INR1.26 billion from INR1.24 billion a year ago. Raw material costs for the quarter jumped 80% to INR1.12 billion. The company also made a one-time provision of INR93.5 million for its investments held in India Foils Limited. -By Sunil Raghu, Dow Jones Newswires;