NALCO Posts Record ₹5,816-Crore Profit as Aluminium and Alumina Production Reach New Highs

State-owned aluminium producer National Aluminium Company Limited has closed FY2025-26 with the strongest operational and financial performance in its history, recording a net profit of ₹5,816 crore while achieving all-time highs across bauxite mining, alumina production, aluminium output, coal production and power generation.

The performance was highlighted at NALCO’s 45th Annual General Meeting on 31 August 2026, where the Navratna public sector enterprise also outlined the next phase of its expansion across alumina, aluminium, captive power, critical minerals and advanced materials. NALCO operates under the Ministry of Mines and remains one of India’s largest integrated producers of alumina and primary aluminium.

NALCO’s revenue from operations reached a record ₹17,843 crore in FY2025-26, compared with ₹16,788 crore during the previous financial year, representing growth of around 6%. Profit after tax increased by more than 9% from ₹5,325 crore to a record ₹5,816 crore, while EBITDA rose to ₹8,613 crore and profit before tax reached ₹7,767 crore.

The performance was driven by higher production volumes, better price realisations and improving operational efficiency across NALCO’s integrated mining, refining, smelting and power operations.

Record Production Across the Aluminium Value Chain

NALCO excavated a record 77.01 lakh tonnes of bauxite during FY2025-26, while bauxite transportation reached 77.07 lakh tonnes. Alumina hydrate output increased to an all-time high of 23 lakh tonnes, while calcined alumina production reached 22.75 lakh tonnes.

Aluminium cast-metal production also reached a record 4.72 lakh tonnes, exceeding the company’s previous best of 4.63 lakh tonnes. Total aluminium metal sales stood at 4.74 lakh tonnes, including 4.61 lakh tonnes sold in the domestic market.

NALCO simultaneously achieved its highest-ever coal production of 40 lakh tonnes from its captive mines and generated a record 6,953 million units of electricity. Greater captive coal availability is particularly important for an aluminium producer because smelting is among the most electricity-intensive industrial processes and reliable power supply has a major influence on production costs.

Total alumina sales reached a record 14.46 lakh tonnes, including 1.38 lakh tonnes in the domestic market. The combination of higher mining, refining and smelting output demonstrates that the performance was not confined to aluminium prices but was supported by improvements across the company’s production chain.

Damanjodi Alumina Refinery Expansion Nears Completion

A major element of NALCO’s next phase of growth is the fifth-stream expansion of its alumina refinery at Damanjodi in Odisha. The project will add approximately one million tonnes per annum of alumina capacity, significantly increasing the amount of refined alumina available for NALCO’s own aluminium operations as well as external sales.

According to the company’s AGM roadmap, production from the additional refinery stream is expected to stabilise during the fourth quarter of FY2026-27.

The additional capacity is strategically important because alumina is produced from bauxite and serves as the principal feedstock for primary aluminium smelting. Increasing domestic alumina production gives NALCO greater control over its raw-material chain and creates room for future aluminium capacity expansion.

NALCO is also progressing with development of the Pottangi bauxite mine, where a mine developer and operator was engaged in December 2025. The mine is designed for approximately 3.5 million tonnes per annum of production and will provide additional long-term bauxite security for the company’s expanded refining operations.

Larger Aluminium Smelter Expansion Planned at Angul

NALCO is simultaneously preparing a major expansion of its aluminium smelting capacity at Angul in Odisha. The company is developing an additional 0.5 million tonnes per annum of aluminium smelting capacity, with commissioning envisaged around 2030-31.

Aluminium smelting requires enormous quantities of dependable electricity. To support the new smelter, NALCO and NLC India signed a joint-venture agreement in July 2026 for development of a 1,080 MW captive thermal power plant at Angul.

The two Navratna PSUs will hold equal stakes in the joint venture. The proposed plant will comprise four 270 MW units, with NALCO expected to purchase the entire output under a long-term power-purchase agreement. NALCO will additionally pursue around 200-250 MW of firm renewable power to meet renewable-consumption requirements.

The combination of additional bauxite mining, another million tonnes of alumina capacity, a larger aluminium smelter and dedicated captive power illustrates the scale of NALCO’s attempt to expand as a fully integrated aluminium producer.

Moving Into Critical Minerals and Industrial-Waste Recovery

NALCO is also beginning to move beyond conventional aluminium production into critical-mineral recovery and industrial-residue valorisation.

In August, the company inaugurated what it described as India’s first indigenous pilot facility for processing bituminous-coal fly ash to recover several useful materials. The 50-kg-per-day pilot plant at NALCO’s Research and Technology Centre in Bhubaneswar was developed through collaboration involving CSIR-IMMT and KIIT.

The technology can recover alumina, calcium silicate, quartz-bearing material and an iron-hydroxide residue enriched with rare-earth elements, including scandium. These materials can potentially be extracted from industrial waste rather than relying exclusively on conventional mineral deposits.

NALCO has also begun work on another pilot plant aimed at processing bauxite residue, commonly known as red mud. The proposed facility will investigate recovery of ferro-titanium alloy, metallic iron and rare-earth elements from the residue generated during alumina production.

Red mud has historically been treated primarily as an industrial-waste-management challenge because enormous quantities are produced during alumina refining. Developing commercially viable technologies to recover metals from it could simultaneously reduce waste and create new domestic sources of strategically important materials.

Rare-earth elements are increasingly important for electric vehicles, permanent magnets, renewable-energy systems, electronics and defence technologies. NALCO’s work therefore connects the traditional aluminium industry with India’s broader effort to improve critical-mineral security.

High-Purity Alumina and Advanced Materials

The company has also identified high-purity alumina and other specialised aluminium products as areas for future development. High-purity alumina is substantially different from the bulk metallurgical-grade alumina used to produce aluminium metal.

It is an advanced industrial material used in applications including LED substrates, semiconductor equipment, specialised ceramics, scratch-resistant glass and certain battery technologies. Moving into such products could allow NALCO to capture significantly greater value from the bauxite-to-alumina chain instead of relying primarily on commodity aluminium markets.

The shift also complements India’s wider strategy of developing domestic capabilities in semiconductors, electronics, clean-energy technologies and advanced manufacturing, all of which require increasingly specialised material inputs.

Strong Momentum Continues Into FY2026-27

NALCO’s record FY26 performance has also carried into the current financial year. During the first quarter of FY2026-27, the company reported net profit of ₹2,002.38 crore, an increase of 88% compared with ₹1,063.86 crore during the corresponding period a year earlier.

Quarterly revenue from operations increased by 39% to ₹5,302.38 crore. NALCO also recorded its highest-ever first-quarter bauxite excavation of 19.52 lakh tonnes, record Q1 calcined-alumina production of 5.77 lakh tonnes and record alumina and hydrate sales of 3.47 lakh tonnes.

The company attributed the performance to favourable aluminium prices, higher production and sales volumes, particularly stronger domestic alumina sales, and improved operating conditions.

More Than a Record-Profit Story

NALCO’s ₹5,816-crore profit is therefore only one part of a much larger transformation. The company’s current roadmap links new bauxite mines, expanded alumina refining, additional aluminium smelting, captive power, renewable energy, specialised materials and critical-mineral recovery.

NALCO remains unusual among Indian industrial companies because it controls much of its production chain, beginning with bauxite mining and extending through alumina refining, aluminium smelting and captive electricity generation. Strengthening each stage of that chain can reduce dependence on external suppliers while improving resilience against commodity and energy-market disruptions.

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