MUMBAI, January 19: Indian Aluminium Co on Tuesday reported a dip in its net profit for the third quarter to December 31, 1998, even as overall net profit for the first three quarters shows a jump of 37 per cent.

The company said net profit for the third quarter fell to Rs 9.8 crore from Rs 12.6 crore in the corresponding period the previous year. The unaudited results were taken on record by the board on Tuesday.

For the nine-month period ended December 31, 1998, Indal reported a 37 per cent increase in its net profit to Rs 48.3 crore from Rs 35.2 crore the previous year.

Indal said the third quarter decline was primarily due to disruption of work at some of its units. The company said it was determined to do away with restrictive work practices and thereby improve productivity at all its locations. While the extrusions unit at Alupuram in Kerala had been under lockout since end-October, 1998, the alumina refinery at Belgaum in Karnataka resumed operations after a10-day closure.

Net sales and operating revenue was Rs 749 crore for the nine-month period to December 31, 1998, against Rs 745.6 crore in the same period the previous year. Exports during the period fell to Rs 136.4 crore from Rs 161.9 crore.

On the operations side, Indal said, it has market position for value- added products, winning back market share from imports for products such as lithographic sheets and increasing the output of high value-added foil products, particularly webstock for laminated tubes.

Indal, in its efforts to increase efficiency, has corrected some equipment-related problems at the sheet plants which had apparently resulted in lower volumes. The export realisation on alumina was maintained well above the level of international prices, added the statement.

It had been able to meet a significant portion of its metal requirements through its own smelters at Hirakud in Orissa and Alupuram in Kerala, both of which operated at full capacity. Increased output was also contributed fromits recycling plant in Taloja in Maharashtra.

The company was able to maintain a high level of production by raising output by 11 per cent in 1998-99 over the last year.

The aluminium major in its outlook for the rest of the year has set for itself certain challenges to combat the twin problems of a slow market growth for aluminium products and a low international price of aluminium. It may be noted that low prices for aluminium had resulted in a significant cut in domestic prices for semi-fab products. International prices of alumina have also been ruling at low levels.

As part of its efforts to combat these issues, Indal will be concentrating on a focussed cost management system and further improvement in operational efficiencies, particularly at the foil and sheet plants.

The emphasis now is on value-added products especially for the end-use applications in printing packaging, consumer durable and capital goods. It has also decided to achieve higher capacity use through improved performance ofnewly installed equipment such as continuous caster, the remelt furnace and the poly extruder with a view to increasing volumes in the high value product segments.

Cost management through a tighter control on working capital management especially receivables and metal inventory has been one of the key measures to pursue greater profitability by Indal.