More Stories

Informist, Monday, May 25, 2026

 

Please click here to read all liners published on this story

--Hindalco: See FY27 as inflection year for Novelis 
--CONTEXT: Comments by Hindalco's management in post-earnings media call 
--Hindalco: India not to be dependant on imported copper within next 2 years 
--Hindalco: India will still be dependant on copper ore imports next few yrs 
--Hindalco: See double-digit EBITDA growth in downstream aluminium FY27 
--Hindalco: See sulphuric acid prices high till W Asis crisis gets resolved 
--Hindalco: Might see some spillover in Q1 due to Oswego fire incident 
--Hindalco: Most net impact of Oswego fire incident on Novelis over 
--Hindalco: Higher copper prices don't really benefit co, it benefits miners 
--Hindalco: Freight rates gone up but no supply disruption for co's projects 
--Hindalco: Co's copper foil ops dependant on India-made lithium cell output 
 

 

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI – Financial year 2026-27 (Apr-Mar) will be an inflection year for Novelis Inc., Satish Pai, managing director of Hindalco Industries Ltd., told reporters at a post-earnings press meet Monday. Hindalco expects the fire-hit Oswego aluminium hot mill factory to reach fully capacity by July-end after restarting operations in a week, Pai said in response to a query from Informist.

"I think in Novelis, FY27 is going to be an inflection year. Positively now Oswego (factory) is going to start any day now. So I think that for Novelis' performance now going forward is going to have a big positive impact on the overall results of Hindalco," Pai said. After the Oswego unit restarts operations, it will need two months to get to producing on full capacity. "Our guidance for Novelis has always been that I think this year we'll be targeting to get to $500 per tonne (adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation per tonne) on a steady basis," Pai said.

 

For the June quarter, the company expects some spillover effect in Novelis' net profit due to the Oswego plant fire incident, but the net income impact on Novelis seems to be over, Pai said. Novelis suffered a net loss of $84 million for the March quarter due to the impact of fires in September and November last year at its Oswego plant. The net income of Novelis declined 13% on year to $227 million. The adjusted EBITDA of Novelis was down 3% on year at $459 million for the March quarter. On a consolidated basis, Hindalco's net profit was hit by a one-time cost of INR 41.71 billion largely due to the spillover effect of fire incidents at Novelis' plant in Oswego in New York. 
 

For Hindalco's copper business, Pai said while copper prices have gone up, this has not really benefitted the company. Copper miners benefit from the price rise, he said. "What we (Hindalco) have benefited from is a strong demand for sulphuric acid (a by-product of the company's copper smelting process) and an increase in sulphuric acid prices because they are indexed to worldwide prices of sulphur, which have gone up because of the Middle East crisis," said Pai. Pai expects sulphuric acid prices to remain high until the West East crisis is resolved.

 

India will not to be dependant on imported copper within the next two years, according to Pai. He, however, expects India to be dependant on copper ore imports for the next few years. Pai said the company will be participating in more copper ore exploration projects. The company's first copper exploration project is underway. 

 

"So, what I hope will happen after five years is that at least 20-25% of our requirements we should be able to get domestically," Pai said. For its copper foil project, Pai expects volumes to be less than what the company had planned initially, as lithium-ion battery manufacturing has not yet picked up in India. 

 

The company expects double-digit EBITDA growth for its downstream aluminum business in FY27. Hindalco had reported a 16% increase in this segment's EBITDA at INR 9.78 billion on the back of demand-driven 18% rise in shipment volumes.

 

Amid the West Asia crisis, Pai said freight rates have gone up, but it doesn't expect raw material supply disruption for the company's projects. For the March quarter, the company's consolidated net profit declined 51% on year to INR 25.97 billion. The company's revenue from operations rose 20% on year to INR 781.33 billion. 

 

At 1432 IST, shares of the company were down 1% on the National Stock Exchange at INR 1,098.70.  End

 

Reported by Astha Oriel and Rajesh Gajra 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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 (11) 4220-1000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2026. All rights reserved.