Hindalco Quarterly Profit Falls on Lower Metal Prices (Update1)

Oct. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Hindalco Industries Ltd., India’s biggest aluminum producer, reported a 52 percent decline in second-quarter profit on lower metal prices. Net income, excluding that of unit Novelis Inc., fell to 3.44 billion rupees ($73 million) in the three months ended Sept. 30, from 7.2 billion rupees a year earlier, the company said today in a statement. The median estimate of five analysts in a Bloomberg survey was 5.12 billion rupees. Sales at Hindalco, which also produces copper, fell 15 percent to 49.7 billion rupees. Aluminum prices in the quarter were about 35 percent lower on average on the London Metal Exchange. Rival National Aluminium Co. yesterday reported profit plunged 64 percent in the three months ended Sept. 30. Hindalco shares rose 1.3 percent to 121.85 rupees at the close of trading yesterday in Mumbai. The shares have more than doubled this year, compared with a 65 percent gain in the Bombay Stock Exchange’s benchmark Sensitive Index.