National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) held an Earnings Conference Call on January 30, 2026, to discuss its Unaudited Financial Results for the 3rd Quarter and Nine Months ended December 31, 2025. The management, led by Chairman-cum-Managing Director Shri Brijendra Pratap Singh, highlighted a record performance for both the quarter and the nine-month period, with significant improvements in physical and financial metrics. For the nine months ended December 2025, NALCO reported a 13% increase in income and a 6% increase in expenditure compared to the previous year. EBITDA margins improved by approximately 20%, and Profit Before Tax (PBT) rose by 25%. Production volumes saw a substantial increase, with alumina production up by 20% and metal production by 3.5%. Alumina sales increased by 45% and metal sales by around 5%. The company achieved revenues of approximately ₹2,000 crores for the nine months, with alumina contributing around ₹1,600 crores and metal around ₹410 crores. Despite a negative impact of ₹871 crores due to falling alumina prices (from an average of $562 to $385), an increase in metal prices provided a positive impact of ₹781 crores (from $2,538 to $2,867). Quarter-on-quarter, NALCO saw a roughly 4-5% increase in production volumes for hydrate and metal. Alumina and metal sales also increased by approximately 20% and 5%, respectively. Profitability for the quarter was maintained despite lower alumina prices, attributed to increased volumes and improved efficiencies in techno-economic factors like caustic soda and CP coke consumption. Employee costs saw a reduction of around ₹118 crores year-on-year due to superannuation and accounting adjustments for performance-related pay (PRP). The company discussed its alumina sales strategy, with approximately three out of four shipments in Q3 linked to spot sales and one to LME. This mix is expected to continue in Q4. NALCO is also exploring long-term contracts for its new refinery, expected to commence commissioning in June 2026. Regarding critical minerals, NALCO is collaborating with NML Jamshedpur and a Chennai-based firm for extraction from red mud, and with BARC for extracting gallium from Bayer's liquid. These are pilot projects, with commercial scale extraction expected in 1.5 to 2 years. NALCO anticipates its alumina sales volume for FY26 to be around 1,250,000 to 1,300,000 tonnes. The company is working to mitigate the impact of Middle East tensions on exports. The cost of aluminium production is expected to be between ₹150,000 to ₹160,000 per tonne, with a slight increase anticipated in Q4 due to higher costs of CT Pitch and CP Coke. The company is also focusing on increasing its captive coal production and expects further savings in power and fuel costs. NALCO has a roadmap to add 0.5 million tonnes of smelting capacity by the end of 2030 or early 2031.
