Hindalco Industries Ltd Q2 FY26 – Aluminium Empire Adds Fire, Mines & ₹10,225 Cr Expansion Masala

1. At a Glance

Hindalco, the metals monarch of the Aditya Birla dynasty, has just dropped another quarterly mixtape — ₹66,058 crore in consolidated sales and ₹4,741 crore in profit for Q2 FY26. While the rest of us struggle with rising electricity bills, this aluminium titan mines its own coal, refines its own alumina, and melts margins like butter at 14% OPM. The share price sits at ₹790, a cool 17.5% higher in three months and 21.5% up for the year. Market cap? A king-sized ₹1,77,621 crore — basically the GDP of a small European country.

The return on equity chills at 14%, ROCE flexes at 14.8%, and the P/E at 9.91 makes it look like a clearance sale compared to the industry average of 19. Dividend yield of 0.63%—not generous, but hey, Birlas are more about building factories than funding your Netflix subscription. With debt of ₹74,878 crore and a debt-equity ratio of 0.56, Hindalco is flexing that “good leverage” bodybuilder vibe — heavy metal, but not reckless metal.

And oh yes — just as if 20 plants in India and 32 abroad weren’t enough, Hindalco just announced a ₹10,225 crore expansion for Aditya Aluminium and is setting up new copper and alumina refineries. Because apparently, “enough” isn’t a word in their vocabulary.

2. Introduction – From Foil to Fortune

Once upon a furnace, in 1958, Hindalco was born — an Indian aluminium dream before “Make in India” was even a slogan. Fast forward to 2025, and it’s not just a company; it’s ametal mafiawith subsidiaries scattered across continents, mines that go deeper than your ex’s excuses, and a product portfolio that touches everything from beverage cans to airplanes.

The company’s global muscle, Novelis, contributes 59% of revenues and dominates aluminium recycling like a pro environmentalist with profits. The copper business quietly hums at Dahej, Gujarat — one of Asia’s largest smelters with its own jetty, because shipping cathodes through regular ports is too middle-class.

Despite a fire incident at Novelis’ Oswego plant in the U.S. that could singe FY26 free cash flow by $550–650 million, Hindalco continues to flex its operational dominance. Its reaction? Invest another $10 billion in expansions — the corporate equivalent of saying, “I burnt one mill, so I’ll just build three more.”

This quarter’s story has it all: new mines, a few flames, capacity expansions worth thousands of crores, and even a new CEO in Aluminium Downstream. Aditya Birla Group’s approach is simple — if there’s a metal you can melt, refine, or sell, it better belong to Hindalco.

3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?

Think of Hindalco as the Ambani of aluminium — vertically integrated from mud to metal.

At the top sitsNovelis, the crown jewel — a global leader in flat-rolled aluminium products and the world’s biggest recycler. It churns out 2,800 KT of shipments in 9M FY25 across cans (60%), autos (19%), specialties (18%), and aerospace (3%). If you’ve ever cracked open a Coke, driven a Tesla, or flown economy, chances are you’ve touched some Novelis.

Then comes theCopper Division— a shiny side hustle that contributes 23% of revenues. Its Dahej plant produces copper cathodes and rods that power everything from EV motors to ceiling fans. Recent expansion plans include a 50 KT recycling plant worth ₹2,700 crore. Because in Hindalco’s world, even trash metal is treasure.

TheAluminium India Operationsadd another 18%. From bauxite mining to power generation to smelting — it’s like a full-stack metal startup. With 1.34 MnT primary aluminium capacity, 3.74 MnT alumina, and 0.43 MnT downstream VAPs, the scale is insane.

And there’s more —Chemicals Division, making alumina hydrates and calcined alumina used in ceramics, abrasives, and even water treatment.

Basically, if it shines, conducts, or bends — Hindalco makes it.

4. Financials Overview

Commentary:The numbers look