Hindalco slumps for third straight session

MUMBAI: Hindalco Industries took a drubbing for a third straight day as investors dumped its shares after the company posted a 78 percent slump in 2008-09 consolidated profit on weak demand and derivative losses.

Hindalco reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 485 crore for the fiscal year ended March 31, compared with Rs 2193 crore a year earlier. The firm said it posted $496 million loss on derivatives used to hedge aluminium exposure, sharply up from $2.5 million a year ago.

Hindalco, which bought Canada's Novelis in 2007, has a total debt of Rs 28000 crore including working capital. Novelis posted a net loss of $1.9 billion for fiscal 2009, hurt by impairment charges of $1.5 billion and derivative losses, it said on Monday.

But the company has envisaged a Rs 25,000-Rs 30,000-crore capex plan till FY13 for its various brownfield and greenfield expansion projects.

The company���s board, on Tuesday, approved a Qualified Institution Placement to eligible investors up to an amount not exceeding USD 500-million equivalent to Rs 2,400-crore. At 12:15 pm, shares of the company fell 5.38 per cent to Rs 81.80 on the BSE.