The revenues were primarily led by higher zinc volumes & zinc LME prices as well as favourable exchange rates while partly offset by lower lead & silver volumes.

Zinc cost of production before royalty (COP) was $ 1,136 (Rs 85,378) per million tonnes for the quarter, higher by 20.2% YoY and lower by 1.0% QoQ. The COP was affected largely on account of higher coal prices & input commodity inflation, partially offset by higher volume, better sulphuric acid realizations & improved recoveries.

EBITDA for the quarter was Rs 5,007 crore, up 29.2% YoY and 14% sequentially. Rise was primarily due to higher zinc & lead LME prices, higher premiums as well as higher silver prices.

As at end March 2022, the Company's gross investments and cash & cash equivalents were Rs 20,789 crore as compared to Rs 17,040 crore as at end December 2021. The company's net investments by the end of March 2022 stood at Rs 17,966 crore as compared to Rs 14,227 crore as of December 2021. The same was invested in high quality debt instruments.

Both mined metal and refined metal production in FY23 is expected to be higher than last year. Mined metal is expected to be between 1,050-1,075 kilo tonne & refined metal production in the range of 1,000-1,025 killo tonne. FY23 saleable silver production is projected to be between 700-725 million tonnes. Zinc cost of production in FY23 is expected to be in between $ 1,125-1,175 per million tonnes. The project capex for the year is expected to be in the range of $ 125-150 million.

Commenting on the performance, Arun Misra, CEO, said: “With the exit run-rate for refined metal at 1.2 million tonnes per annum, we are fully geared for another stellar performance this year. Our focus is to produce more and more of world-class value-added zinc alloy products with the use of latest technology & equipment. Hindustan Zinc is committed to decarbonize its mining operations and deliver on its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) road map to achieve net zero by 2050.”

Mr Sandeep Modi, Interim CFO, said: “With stringent cost & cash conversion discipline, we continue to deliver industry leading returns, while investing towards a sustainable business. With ongoing asset optimization & integration initiatives as well as proactive measures towards combating input commodity inflation, we will continue to produce essential resources for the world & thereby create long lasting value for all stakeholders.”

Hindustan Zinc Ltd, a Vedanta Group company, is the market leader in zinc, lead and sulphuric acid business. The company is India's only and the world's largest integrated producer of Zinc-Lead. They are also one of the leading Silver producers in the world.

Shares of Hindustan Zinc were trading 1.36% lower to end at Rs 344.95 on BSE.