India's listed metal companies delivered sharp year-on-year expansions in operating profitability in the first quarter of financial year 2026-27 (1QFY27, the April-June quarter), with the aluminium and zinc businesses of the Vedanta group and state-run National Aluminium Company (NALCO) recording the biggest gains, according to a CNBC-TV18 Markets ranking of top metals stocks.

Among individual companies, Vedanta Aluminium Metal recorded the sharpest expansion, with its EBITDA margin rising 1,867 basis points year-on-year to 48.8% in 1QFY27 from 30.1%. It was followed by NALCO, whose margin expanded 1,187 basis points to 51.1%, and Hindustan Zinc, where the margin increased 1,093 basis points to 61.8%.

EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) margin is a widely used measure of operating profitability; one basis point equals one-hundredth of a percentage point. Sales realisations for India's aluminium and zinc producers are broadly benchmarked to LME (London Metal Exchange) prices, making global price trends a central variable in their quarterly margins.

Vedanta Aluminium is the aluminium business of diversified natural resources company Vedanta Ltd. NALCO, or National Aluminium Company Limited, is a public sector undertaking under India's Ministry of Mines engaged in bauxite mining, alumina refining and aluminium smelting. Hindustan Zinc, a Vedanta group company in which the Indian government retains a minority shareholding, is one of the world's leading integrated zinc producers and also produces lead and silver.

Beyond the company-level results, the sector snapshot highlighted the following trends:

• Copper: LME (London Metal Exchange) stocks rise, but near-term supply remains tight — LME warehouse inventories are a widely tracked gauge of near-term metal availability.
• Aluminium: Supply concerns ease as UAE smelter plans output recovery; the UAE ranks among the world's largest exporters of primary aluminium.
• Zinc: Silver remains a key earnings driver; silver prices climbed to record highs in 2025, sharpening the contribution of by-product silver at integrated producers such as Hindustan Zinc.
• Steel: Higher coking coal costs remain a key pressure point; coking coal is the primary input for blast-furnace steelmaking, and Indian mills import a large share of their requirements.
• Mining: Performance remains mixed.

The variables flagged across the snapshot — LME inventory levels, the pace of the UAE smelter's output recovery, silver prices and coking coal costs — are the markers to track for the sector through the rest of the fiscal year.

Source: CNBC-TV18 Markets