Mumbai, Jan 22 (IANS): Hindustan Zinc Ltd on Monday posted a 22 per cent sequential rise in its net profit to Rs 2,211 crore for the third quarter ending December 31.

"Net profit for the quarter was Rs 2,211 crore, up 22 per cent sequentially and down 4 per cent y-o-y, while year-to-date net profit was down by 12 per cent y-o-y to Rs 5,944 crore in line with EBITDA, higher treasury income and higher depreciation, partly offset by lower tax rate," the company said in a statement.

The resultant EBITDA for the quarter was Rs 2,851 crore, up 23 per cent sequentially and down 13 per cent y-o-y, while year-to-date EBITDA fell by 9 per cent y-o-y to Rs 7,950 crore.

Higher metal volume and rupee depreciation drove up its revenue from operations by 16 per cent during the quarter to Rs 5,540 crore. It, however, fell by 6 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) on account of lower metal prices, partly offset by rupee depreciation.

Year to date, the company's revenues were flat y-o-y with higher lead and silver volumes and rupee depreciation, offset by lower metal prices and zinc volume, Hindustan Zinc said in a statement.

The cost of production before royalty for zinc in the quarter was $997 (Rs 71,855), improving by 4 per cent (1 per cent in Rs) from previous quarter and improving by 3 per cent y-o-y (higher by 9 per cent in Rs).

The sequential improvement was primarily on account of higher volume, operational efficiency and lower diesel costs partly offset by higher mine development expense.

"With the ongoing ramp-up of underground mines, mined metal production in FY 2019 is expected to be slightly higher than last year, in line with the annual guidance provided earlier. Refined zinc-lead production will be in sync with mined metal production and slightly short of last year's production," it said.

The project capex for the year will be around $350 million, it said.