Hindalco Q2 net rises 12%, beats forecast

Mumbai: Hindalco Industries Ltd, India’s top aluminium maker, on Friday beat forecasts with a 12% rise in quarterly net profit on higher sales and foreign exchange gains. The company reported a net profit of Rs7.2 billion ($145.7 million) in its fiscal second quarter ended 30 September, compared with Rs6.43 billion a year earlier. Net sales rose to Rs56.4 billion from Rs49.60 billion. A Reuters poll of nine analysts had expected a net profit of Rs7.01 billion on net sales of Rs52.34 billion. Shares in Hindalco, worth $2.4 billion, dropped 24% in the September quarter, compared with a 4.5% decline in the main Mumbai index. Reuters