NALCO betters first half records

Angul (PTI): National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) has recorded increase in net profit and sales turnover for the first half of this fiscal despite the market meltdown. The net profit of the Navaratna PSU was Rs 9.69.79 crore and sales turnover Rs 3282,32 crore for the first half of 2008-09 compared to Rs 886.39 crore and Rs 2719.24 crore respectively during the corresponding period last year, Arun Sarma, executive director of the company's smelter and power complex told reporters here. The present London Metal Exchange (LME) price of aluminium in international market was 1642 USD per mt, while the cost of production of the metal in the country was a little less, he said. Alumina sales during the first half of this fiscal was higher at 443479 mt as against 424615 mt during the same period in 2007-08. Metals sales was 172688 mt as against 172903 mt during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. The slight slump in metals sales was mainly due to short supply of coal to the captive power plant by Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd and puchase/import of coal at higher price. NALCO sustained huge loss due to import of coal at higher rate, he said. Referring to the second phase of expansion of NALCO, he said it cost Rs 5,000 crore and was nearing completion. It would raise power production capacity of 1200 mw from its present capacity of 960 mw and alumina production to 4.6 lakh mt from the present 3.45 Lakh mt. ---www.hindu.com