Hindustan Copper Slides After Early Gains; Stock Up 44% In Six Months Amid AI-Driven Demand Surge

Hindustan Copper Ltd.'s stock opened lower on Monday but later gained nearly 2% before giving up gaines to trade 1.12% lower on the exchanges.

Hindustan Copper has witnessed a strong rally, gaining nearly 7% over the past five sessions. On a monthly basis, the stock is up close to 12%, while in the last six months it has surged more than 44%, reflecting sustained investor demand.

Earlier, in an exclusive conversation with NDTV Profit, Sanjiv Kumar Singh, chief managing director of Hindustan Copper said that as artificial intelligence and data centres continue to take over the world, these are emerging as the largest users of copper as well. According to Singh, artificial intelligence has surprisingly become the single largest consumer of copper, a fact that "very few people know."

While it is well known that electric vehicles, wires, rods, and machines are major sources of demand for copper, a single AI data center consumes close to 28 to 30 tonnes of copper. This new demand driver is playing a significant role in keeping copper prices stable, according to him.

Hindustan Copper Ltd.'s profit rises 84% to Rs 186.82 crore in the second quarter of this financial year. This is in comparison to profit of Rs 101.67 crore in the previous quarter of this fiscal.

Revenue advanced by 38.6% year-on-year for the three months ended September, reaching Rs 718.04 crore. This is in comparison to Rs 518.19 crore posted in the same quarter last year.

Operating income, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation rose 86% year-on-year to Rs 282.12 crore. The Ebitda margin expanded to 39.3% from 29.3% reported in quarter ended September 2024.