Hindustan Zinc Q3 net profit rises 36 pc to Rs 2,200 cr

Vedanta group firm Hindustan Zinc Ltd on Wednesday reported a 35.8 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 2,200 crore for the quarter ended December driven by recovery in metal prices and strict cost discipline.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 1,620 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal, Hindustan Zinc said in a filing to BSE.

''Net profit for the quarter was Rs 2,200 crore, up 36 per cent Y-o-Y and 13 per cent sequentially driven by recovery in metal prices and strict cost discipline,'' the company said in a statement.

During the October-December period, the company's total income increased to Rs 6,483 crore, over Rs 5,117 crore period in the year-ago period, the filing said.

Commenting on the result, the company's CEO (chief executive officer) Arun Mishra said, ''We have delivered record production volumes yet again despite a challenging operating environment due to COVID-19. Our steadfast focus on strengthening fundamentals will allow us to operate at targeted run-rate production in Q4, in turn setting the stage right for next fiscal year. ''We are leveraging technology for increased efficiency at our mines & smelters and more importantly to ensure safe operations in these extraordinary times.'' Total mined metal production for the quarter was up 4 per cent Y-o-Y to 2,44,000 tonnes on account of higher ore production partially offset by slightly lower overall metal grades. Sequentially, mined metal production grew by 2 per cent driven by higher ore production, the statement said.

Integrated metal production was 2,35,000 tonnes for the quarter, up 7 per cent from a year ago. Integrated zinc production was 1,82,000 tonnes, up 2 per cent Y-o-Y, while integrated lead production was up 28 per cent Y-o-Y to 52,000 tonnes on account of dedicated pyro-lead smelter operation, the statement added.

On the outlook the company said, ''Driven by continued strong performance, we are confident to achieve our mined metal and refined metal volume guidance, while likely to exceed our guidance on silver production and cost of production for FY21.'' As of December 31, 2020, the company’s gross cash and cash equivalents was Rs 21,024 crore as compared to Rs 27,631 crore at the end of the second quarter.

The company’s net cash and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2020 was Rs 10,987 crore as compared to Rs 17,832 crore at the end of the second quarter and was invested in high quality debt instruments.

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