Hindalco Industries Ltd, a subsidiary of the Aditya Birla Group, reported its strongest quarterly performance in history for the first quarter of FY27. Managing Director Satish Pai stated on Friday that the company's consolidated net debt is expected to peak around 80,000 crore as the company enters a phase of high investment, with nearly 50,000 crore worth of projects underway in aluminum, copper, and recycling sectors.
The Aditya Birla Group metallurgical company demonstrated record results in Q1 FY27. Net profit increased by 75 percent, reaching approximately 7,013 crore compared to 4,004 crore in the same period last year. Consolidated revenue grew by 32% year-over-year (Y-o-Y) to approximately 84,825 crore, and consolidated EBITDA jumped by 73%, reaching a record 14,989 crore.
This significant growth is attributed to high revenues across all business segments. The EBITDA margin in the aluminum raw material segment increased by 81% to approximately 7,390 crore, while copper EBITDA grew by 36% to 918 crore. Furthermore, Novelis reported an adjusted EBITDA of 4,875 crore, which is 37% higher than last year.
However, due to ongoing investments and the build-up of working capital, the company's leverage has sharply increased. As of June 30, 2026, consolidated net debt stood at about 77,495 crore, up from 34,257 crore the previous year. Consequently, the net debt to EBITDA ratio increased from 1.02 times to 1.95 times.
Pai noted that the company is approaching its maximum debt level and expects to reduce the debt burden after normalizing working capital. He emphasized that 'this maximum, around 80,000 crore—it's a kind of peak,' adding that the increase in inventory and working capital requirements contributed to the debt rise. Currently, Hindalco is executing projects worth about 50,000 crore, including expansions in bauxite, aluminum smelting, copper, and recycling.
'The management team's main priority is to execute these projects on time and within budget,' he stated. The company maintained its capital expenditure plan for FY27 at approximately 12,000 crore, directing investments towards expanding refineries, smelter capacities, copper recycling, and related areas.
Hindalco's strategic investment portfolio includes expanding the Aditya Aluminium smelter, a project for a copper smelter, owned coal mines, and related projects such as battery foil and battery casings. The company announced that the first phase of the Aditya Aluminium expansion is on track to begin production in FY28, while the copper smelter is scheduled to be commissioned in FY29.
A key shift in Hindalco's strategy will be the creation of a larger internal ecosystem for aluminum and copper recycling. Pai stated that the company intends to become a major consumer of domestic scrap, thereby reducing dependence on imported raw materials. 'The biggest new thing in our strategy is that Hindalco is going to become a major player in using scrap in India, both for aluminum and for copper,' he said.
Currently, the company sources about half of its aluminum scrap needs domestically, importing the remainder. Hindalco aims to reduce its reliance on imported aluminum scrap over the next three years. Faster progress is anticipated in copper recycling, with domestic scrap expected to cover 60-70% of needs within two years. A project for copper and e-waste recycling is slated to launch in FY27.
