National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) is a major Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) operating under the Ministry of Mines, Government of India. The Company is a Group A' CPSE, and its operations include mining, metal and power. Presently, the Government of India holds a 51.28% stake in NALCO. NALCO was incorporated on January 7, 1981. In November 1985, the company started its bauxite mining operations at Panchpatmali Hills of Koraput, Orissa. In 1986, it built the Alumina Refinery in Damanjodi in Koraput. In 1987, it also built an aluminium smelter at Angul in Orissa. By the end of 1988, the company had commenced alumina and aluminium exports. For its export performance in 1997-98, NALCO eventually bagged the export award of the Chemical and Allied Products Export Promotion Council (Capexil). In 1999, the company established new records in bauxite mining, alumina production and exports. NALCO made its footprint in the detergent business in 2001. In 2003, the company commissioned a 120 MW captive power plant and 120 pots of smelter with a capacity of 57,500 MT of aluminium per year. In May 2008, NALCO was offered the Navratna status. On September 18, 2017, the 3 CPSEs under the Ministry of Mines, i.e. NALCO, Hindustan Copper (HCL) and Mineral Exploration Corporation (MECL), signed an MoU to build India’s self-reliance in the areas of 12 strategic materials that are either not available in the country at all or not in the desired quantity. In 2018, NALCO unveiled its Corporate Plan for 2032, providing a strategic way forward for the company up to 2032.

Business Segments

The company’s main business is the manufacturing and selling, including exports, of:

• Alumina

The Company operates an alumina refinery plant with a 22.75 lakh MT per annum capacity at Damanjodi, Odisha.

• Aluminium 

Its operations cover the entire value chain of aluminium products, i.e. bauxite mining, refining alumina, smelting aluminium, power generation and downstream products. The company has an aluminium smelter of 4.60 lakh MT per annum capacity at Angul.

• Power

The company also has a 1200 MW captive thermal power plant near the smelter plant. It owns a captive coal mine at Angul to meet its coal requirements for the power plant. In addition to this, the Company also operates 4 wind power plants with a capacity of 198.40 MW. These are located in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra. Using the resources mentioned above, the company produces:

1. Alumina - Calcined Alumina, Alumina Hydrate, Specialty Hydrates
2. Aluminium - Standard Ingots, Sows, T-Ingots, Wire Rods, Billets, Flat Rolled Products (Coils, Sheets and Chequered Sheet)
3. Specialty Hydrates for PVC and plastic rubber industries.
4. Synthetic detergent grade Zeolite-A
5. Electricity

Subsidiary NALCO does not have any subsidiary companies as of October 2023.

Corporate Actions

The following are some of the major corporate actions undertaken by NALCO: Bonus Shares In 2011, the company issued bonus shares at 1:1. Stock Split In 2011, the company split the face value of its stock from ₹10 to ₹5. Share Buyback The company conducted buyback of its shares in July 2021, October 2018 and February 2016.

Management Outlook

The plan for 2018 to 2032 mentioned earlier envisions NALCO to reach a turnover of ₹18,171 crore and a profit of ₹1,693 crore by 2024. The plan also involves the enhancement of the smelting capacity to 1.1 million tons and the refining capacity to 3.27 million tons by 2024. The strategy, in the long term, sets a target for the company to reach a yearly turnover of ₹31,248 crore and PAT of ₹3,010 crore by 2032. The corporate plan also envisages:

• Upstream expansion to CT Pitch and caustic soda.
• Downstream expansion to extrusion, foils and castings.
• Increasing value addition capacities in wire rods and rolled products.
• Diversification into commercial mining in bauxite and chromite, conductors and Lithium-Ion batteries, etc.