Vedanta Group firm Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL) on Friday reported a 12 percent year-on-year (YoY) decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 2,583 crore for the fourth quarter that ended March 31, 2023.

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In the corresponding quarter last year, the company posted a net profit of Rs 2,928 crore. CNBC-TV18 Polls had predicted a profit of Rs 2,465 crore for the quarter under review.

In the March quarter, revenue from operations stood at Rs 8,509 crore during the period under review, down 3.3 percent against Rs 8,797 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding fiscal on account of lower zinc, lead, and silver prices partly offset by higher metal and silver volumes and favourable exchange rates.

At the operating level, EBITDA dropped 14.2 percent to Rs 4,255 crore in the third quarter of this fiscal over Rs 4,962 crore in the corresponding period in the previous fiscal.

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EBITDA margin stood at 50 percent in the reporting quarter as compared to 56.4 percent in the corresponding period in the previous fiscal. EBITDA is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation.

For the full year, net profit was at Rs 10,511 crore, up 9.2 percent year-on-year, led by higher EBITDA partly offset by the increase in tax. The revenue from operations stood at Rs 34,098 crore, witnessing an increase of 15.8 percent year-on-year.

EBITDA for the full year was Rs 17,590 crore, up 8.0 percent year-on-year, driven by improved metal & silver volumes, higher zinc LME, gains from strategic hedging and favourable exchange rates partly offset by higher costs and lower lead and silver prices.

Sequentially, revenue was up by 8.2 percent, led by improved metal and silver volumes coinciding with higher zinc, lead, and silver prices. Sequential EBITDA improved primarily due to better revenue and reduced costs.

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As on March 31, 2023, the company's consolidated gross investments and cash & cash equivalents were Rs 10,061 crore as compared to Rs 16,482 crore at the end of December 2022 and Rs 20,789 crore as of the end of March 2022 which was invested in high-quality debt instruments.

Total borrowings outstanding as on March 2023 was Rs 11,841 crore. During the year, a total sum of Rs 31,901 crore was paid in the form of dividends.

Arun Misra, the CEO, said, by registering a historic high annual operational and financial performance, it was undeniably a landmark year for Hindustan Zinc. This year saw us accomplish the superlative milestone of crossing the 1 million tonne metal mark which is a true reflection of our persistent focus on volume delivery and operational efficiency.

"I am happy to share that Hindustan Zinc is now ranked as the 5th largest silver producer globally. Further, we are progressing well on our strategic development projects directed towards capacity expansion, synergetic growth, and value integration," he said.

With the mission of decarbonising our operations, Hindustan Zin signed a Power Delivery Agreement for sourcing up to 450MW of renewable energy. This historic year, Hindustan Zinc also flagged off India’s first Battery Electric Vehicle in underground mining, adding the same to its ever-expanding EV fleet.

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Outlook FY24

Both mined metal and refined metal production in FY24 is expected to be higher than last year. Mined metal is expected to be between 1,075-1,100 kt & refined metal production is in the range of 1,050-1,075 kt.

FY24 saleable silver production is projected to be between 725-750 MT. Zinc cost of production in FY24 is expected to be in between $1,125-1,175 per MT. Project capex for the year is expected to be in the range of $175-200 million.

(Edited by : Pradeep John)

First Published:Apr 21, 2023 3:46 PM IST