Hindalco ups the ante: More metal, stronger margins
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Hindalco Industries Ltd’s investor day made one thing clear—the metals giant is going all in on scale and efficiency. With a $10 billion capex plan split between India and subsidiary Novelis Inc.
over FY24-29, Hindalco is working towards sustained growth, with a sharp focus on margins and cash flows. Novelis will chase the long-term $600 per tonne adjusted Ebitda mark versus $406 and $525 in Q3 and Q2 of FY25, respectively. The roadmap involves scale benefits from the Bay Minette project, pricing gains from beverage can contracts, a richer product mix leaning on auto sheets, and operational efficiencies.
To bring in cost efficiency, the underwhelming Richmond plant will be phased out, selling, general and administrative (SG&A) savings will contribute, and recycling content will rise to 75% by 2030 from 63% now. The company is banking on technology to offset rising scrap costs. Back home, Hindalco is doubling down on its core strengths—expanding capacity across smelting, refining, and rolling.
The aluminium business’ capacity will grow across smelting (180ktpa), fibreglass reinforced plastic (170ktpa), and alumina refining (850ktpa). Captive coal security is another lever, with the Meenakshi and Chakla mines expected to improve cost efficiency. The copper segment isn’t sitting idle either, with a 300ktpa smelter expansion on the cards.
The company targets incremental Ebitda per tonne gains of $200 in primary aluminium, $100 in copper, $120 in downstream aluminium (extrusions/ fibreglass reinforced plastic), and $50 in speciality alumina from FY24 numbers. It helps that domestic aluminium demand is expected to grow at a 7-8% CAGR over the next decade. Despite the huge capex plans,
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