Hindustan Zinc Q4 net profit drops 21% to Rs 2,038 cr

New Delhi: Vedanta group firm Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL) on Friday said its consolidated net profit declined 21 per cent to Rs 2,038 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2024, mainly on account of lower zinc price.

The company posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 2,583 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

"Net profit for the quarter stood at Rs 2,038 crore, marginally up sequentially and down 21 per cent Y-o-Y (Year-on-Year)," Hindustan Zinc said in a statement.

The drop in net profit is "on account of lower zinc prices, partly offset by significant cost improvement by 11 per cent and silver volume improvement by 5 per cent," the company said.

The consolidated income of the company in the January-March quarter declined to Rs 7,822 crore, over Rs 8,863 crore in the year-ago period.

"FY2023-24 has been a year of solid growth for HZL, with mined metal, refined metal, and silver recording its highest historic production levels, supported by a backdrop of fatality-free operations. As part of our strategy, it was driven by our increased focus on silver & metal production and cost optimisation.

"The company withstood the market headwinds during the year, ensuring preservation of margins and shareholder value," the company's Chief Executive Officer Arun Misra said.

In the last financial year, the company contributed Rs 13,197 crore to the government treasury.

The company generated a cash flow of Rs 2,099 crore during the fourth quarter of FY24.

HZL said it has a robust free cash flow from operations post capex of Rs 9,004 crore for FY24.

Hindustan Zinc is in the zinc, lead and silver businesses. It is the world's second largest integrated zinc producer and now the third largest silver producer. The company has a market share of 75 per cent of the growing zinc market in India with its headquarters in Udaipur along with zinc, lead mines and smelting complexes spread across Rajasthan.