Hindalco to invest ₹2,000 cr in copper and e-waste recycling unit

Aditya Birla Group's flagship company Hindalco Industries will invest ₹2,000 crore to establish the "first-of-its-kind" copper and e-waste recycling facility in India.

The move addresses the mounting challenge posed by e-waste, recognised as the foremost waste stream on a global scale, Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla says in his address to shareholders at the 64th Annual General Meeting of the company.

The hazardous nature of e-waste is compounded by improper handling leading to a significant loss of valuable materials, according to Birla.

"At present, due to lack of advanced metal extraction and refining technologies domestically, a substantial volume of e-waste is exported to other nations. Bringing this cutting-edge technology to India marks a transformative step towards offering a tangible solution, aligned with your company and in fact, our nation’s circular economy agenda," Birla says.

Hindalco's copper business delivered an all-time high EBITDA of ₹2,253 crore in FY23, reflecting a 62% year-on-year increase, driven by robust market demand, stable operations and higher value-added product sales. “Our Copper business has now emerged as a top-3 copper rod player globally (outside of China),” Birla says.

Hindalco has also partnered with Indian Railways and the passenger coach manufacturing ecosystem for the ambitious high-speed Vande Bharat trains. An investment of ₹2,000 crore is planned for the project and technology tie-ups are in place to bring new extrusion and fabrication technologies to India, says Birla.

Consolidated net profit of Aditya Birla Group’s flagship company Hindalco Industries dropped 40% year-on-year to ₹2,454 crore for the quarter ended June. The aluminium producer had posted ₹4,119 crore profit in the year-ago quarter.

Revenue from operations declined 9% year-on-year to ₹52,991 crore in the first quarter as against ₹58,018 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal. The company attributed the drop in revenues to unfavourable macros and subdued volumes.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the quarter stood at ₹6,109 crore compared with ₹8,640 crore in the same quarter last year.

Hindalco’s U.S. subsidiary Novelis reported revenues of $4.1 billion, down 7% quarter-on-quarter, impacted by lower average aluminium prices and subdued shipments.

Total shipments of flat rolled products were at 879 kilo tonnes in Q1 FY24 versus 936 Kt in Q4 FY23, down 6% QoQ due to lower beverage can shipments and unfavourable economic conditions impacting some specialties markets mainly in building and construction, the world's largest producer of rolled aluminium says. This was partially offset by record automotive shipments.

Hindalco's aluminium upstream and downstream businesses witnessed 7% and 11% drop in revenue, respectively, while the company’s copper business reported a 9% growth and highest-ever metal sales, supported by robust market demand.

Aluminium upstream revenue was ₹8,064 crore in Q1 FY24 while EBITDA stood at ₹1,935 crore in Q1 FY24. “Aluminium India Downstream EBITDA for the quarter was ₹147 crore, up 31% sequentially, due to enriched product mix. Aluminium Upstream reported higher quarterly shipments at 341 Kt, up by 5% sequentially, driven mainly by higher demand in electrical and auto segments,” the company says in its earnings release.