Analyst Concall
NALCO FY27 capex seen at up to INR 20 bln; FY28 INR 50 bln
This story was originally published at 21:44 IST on 30 April 2026
Register to read our real-time news.
Informist, Thursday, Apr. 30, 2026
Please click here to read all liners published on this story
--NALCO: No impact of West Asia war on co's sales volumes yet
--CONTEXT: Comments by NALCO's management in post-earnings analyst concall
--NALCO: See pressure on alumina prices continuing in June qtr
--NALCO: See avg alumina realisation at $320/tn Apr-Jun vs $348/tn Jan-Mar
--NALCO: See FY27 capex at INR 18 bln-INR 20 bln
--NALCO: Expansion of 1 mtpa 5th stream alumina refinery to be completed Jun
--NALCO: See excess alumina supply in market FY27
--NALCO: FY28 capex likely to be INR 40 bln to INR 50 bln
--NALCO: Employee costs expected to decline slightly in coming years
--NALCO: Plan to recruit 200-250 employees this year, process has begun
--NALCO: Exports to West Asia have declined of late
--NALCO: Estimate avg aluminium realisation for FY27 at $3,000/tn $3,100/tn
By Ashutosh Pati and Shakshi Jain
MUMBAI – National Aluminium Co. Ltd. plans capital expenditure of INR 18 billion-INR 20 billion for 2026-27 (Apr-Mar), the company said Thursday at a post-earnings conference call with analysts. The company expects capex of around INR 40 billion to INR 50 billion in FY28 and plans to scale it up to INR 80 billion to INR 100 billion over the following three years, including investments in a smelter and a captive power plant.
While the company has had an impact on its exports due to the war in West Asia, the sales volumes have been protected for now. "Our alumina export to the Middle East (West Asia), of course, that was growing. Earlier, in the previous year,... around 40-50% of our exports were going to the Middle East, which has got affected. But now from Indonesia and other places also, orders are there," the management said.
In terms of volume, the company is receiving orders from spot tenders. The company is also trying to increase its presence in the domestic market. Its sales here rose to 140,000 tonnes in FY26 from around 40,000 tonnes the previous year. "This year, again, we are targeting to further increase, go to around 2.5 to 3 lakhs (250,000-300,000)," they said. NALCO is also trying to build "long-term relationship, long-term engagement" with smelters and manufacturers across the globe so it can sell aluminium to these smelters.
NALCO reported a decline in its key financial metrics for the March quarter due to weak alumina prices and a jump in total expenses. Its net profit for the quarter fell over 17% on year to INR 17.18 billion while revenue declined nearly 5% to INR 50.13 billion. Its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation fell around 12% on year to INR 25.47 billion for the March quarter.
The company expects alumina prices to remain under pressure in the June quarter as well. NALCO expects price pressure until production curtailments in West Asia return to full capacity. Some major aluminium smelters in West Asia have curtailed output due to the war in the region, which accounts for around 9% of global aluminium production.
In addition, the excess supply of alumina in the global market this year is also expected to put pressure on prices. "Indonesia's smelting capacity is going to start this financial year-end, some of the smelting capacity, but in spite of that, their refineries' capacities are on the higher side. There will be an excess of alumina in the market every time, this year or maybe next year," the management said. They expect average realisation from alumina to be around $320 per tonne in the June quarter from $348 per tonne in the March quarter.
NALCO is compensating for lower prices by raising its alumina sales volumes. Higher aluminium prices are also helping the company. It expects average realisations on sales of aluminium to be around $3,500 per tonne in the June quarter and around $3,000-$3,100 per tonne for FY27. The company expects metal production to slightly increase to 473,000 tonnes in FY27.
The commissioning of NALCO's 5th stream of the 1-million-tonne-per-annum alumina refinery expansion is expected in June. The commissioning process takes around 3–4 months. Production of the refinery is expected to start from around the last quarter of FY27. "That's why we have targeted only 2 lakh (200,000) tonnes from the new refinery," the management said.
The company expects its employee costs to decline gradually in the coming years as several of its high-paid employees are retiring. It plans to recruit around 200-250 employees this year. Thursday, NALCO's shares closed 7.9% lower at INR 399.30 on the National Stock Exchange. The company declared its March quarter earnings during market hours. End
Edited by Saji George Titus
For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.
Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.
Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000
Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com
© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2026. All rights reserved.
To read more please subscribe
Share this Story:
