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Informist, Wednesday, Apr. 22, 2026

 

By Ashutosh Pati

 

MUMBAI – Hindustan Zinc Ltd. is expected to post robust numbers for the March quarter, thanks to the surge in prices of metals, especially silver, and a rise in zinc sales volume, according to analysts. Several brokerages said the rise in silver prices will be the key earnings driver for the company.

 

The Vedanta Group company is expected to post a net profit of INR 45.40 billion for the March quarter, up nearly 53% on year, according to an average of estimates from six brokerages. It is likely to have earned a revenue of INR 119.74 billion for the quarter, up over 32% on year. Sequentially, the company's bottom line is expected to rise around 18% and the top line by around 10%.

 

Kotak Securities Ltd. has the highest estimate for the company's net profit at INR 48.74 billion while Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. has the lowest at INR 41.09 billion. Estimates for the company's revenue range from a high of INR 125.47 billion by JM Financial Institutional Securities Pvt. Ltd. to a low of INR 115.81 billion by YES Securities (India) Ltd.

 

The price of silver rose to a record high of $121.78 per ounce during the March quarter before correcting sharply. Despite the fall, the average price of silver was up around 157% on year and over 51% sequentially in the quarter. The average price of zinc rose around 14% on year and over 7% sequentially in the quarter.

 

The primary cause for the sharp rise in silver price is a sustained deficit in global supply of the commodity, which is considered both a precious metal and an industrial metal, and robust demand from industrial users. Strong flows into silver exchange-traded funds across the globe also supported the price.

 

Silver sales accounted for over 24% of Hindustan Zinc's revenue for the December quarter and 44% of its net profit. Zinc sales constituted 59% of the company's revenue and lead, over 9%. Higher volumes of these metals, particularly zinc, during the March quarter are also expected to boost the company's top line.

 

Earlier this month, Hindustan Zinc reported its highest-ever quarterly mined metal production of 315,000 tonnes in the March quarter, up 2% on year, driven by higher ore production and better grades. It also recorded its highest-ever quarterly refined metal production at 282,000 tonnes, up 5% on year. The Vedanta Group company saw a year-on-year rise of 6% in refined zinc output in the quarter at 227,000 tonnes, but its refined lead output fell 2% on year to 55,000 tonnes. The silver output also saw a marginal year-on-year decline in the March quarter to 176 tonnes.

 

Hindustan Zinc, among the large producers of zinc and silver globally, expected its silver volume in FY26 to be close to the guidance of 680 tonnes, it had said in the post-December earnings conference call with analysts in January. However, it has failed to reach this level, producing 627 tonnes of saleable silver for the year, missing the target by 9%.

 

Hindustan Zinc's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation is seen rising around 47% on year and over 16% on quarter to INR 70.68 billion, according to the estimates. Estimates for the company's EBITDA range from a high of INR 74.66 billion from Kotak Securities to a low of INR 64.95 billion from Motilal Oswal.

 

All the six brokerages expect the company's EBITDA to rise because of higher prices of silver and zinc. "We estimate realisation across zinc and silver to increase primarily driven by higher prices," JM Financial said.

Of the seven brokerage reports on the company available with Informist, five have a "buy" or equivalent recommendation on the stock with an average target price of INR 731, a rise of around 21% from the current market price.

 

Wednesday, Hindustan Zinc shares closed nearly 3% higher at INR 604.75 on the National Stock Exchange. The company had reported a net profit of INR 38.79 billion for the December quarter on a revenue of INR 109.22 billion. Since then, the shares have fallen over 10%. The company will detail its March quarter earnings Friday.

 

Following are the March quarter earnings estimates for Hindustan Zinc from six brokerages, in INR billion, in descending order of the net profit estimate:

Brokerage	Net sales	Net profit	EBITDA
Kotak Securities Ltd.	122.28	48.74	74.66
Nuvama Wealth Management Ltd.	121.42	47.43	72.80
Systematix Shares and Stocks (India) Ltd.	117.60	46.90	72.90
JM Financial Institutional Securities Pvt. Ltd.	125.47	44.57	70.03
YES Securities (India) Ltd.	115.81	43.66	68.75
Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.	115.84	41.09	64.95
Average	119.74	45.40	70.68

 

End

 

US$1 = INR 93.79

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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