April 30 (Reuters) - India's state-owned National Aluminium Company (NALCO) reported a 16.6% fall in fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, as higher costs and weaker alumina prices weighed on earnings.
o The company is India's largest producer of alumina, or aluminium oxide, used in the production of aluminium and as a catalyst in petrochemical refining.
o Net profit fell to 17.22 billion rupees ($181.02 million) in the quarter ended March 31, from 20.67 billion rupees a year earlier.
o Revenue from operations declined 5% to 50.13 billion rupees.
o Expenses rose 10% to 28.98 billion rupees, partly due to higher raw material and operating costs.
o Analysts expected weaker alumina prices to limit margins at the company's alumina unit, despite support from firm aluminium prices, which rose on global supply disruptions.
o Chinese domestic alumina prices fell about 5.5% quarter-on-quarter in the March quarter, as escalating U.S.-Israel tensions with Iran since late February weighed on demand from China, the world's largest consumer, according to S&P Global.
o Revenue from the firm's second-biggest segment, chemicals, fell nearly 38%.
o Rival Vedanta reported a 92.3% rise in profit on Wednesday, while Hindalco Industries is yet to report.
($1 = 95.1275 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Devika Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Sonia Cheema)
