In a filing submitted to the Bombay Stock Exchange, Hindustan Zinc Ltd. (HZL) reported a more than double increase in its profits for the fourth quarter of last fiscal.

The company which is the largest producer of zinc in India said that the increase in the price of the commodity is the reason for this phenomenal rise.

In its filing, the company reported a net income of Rs. 12.4 billion for the quarter ending March 31, 2010 as against Rs. 5.5 billion for the same period last year.

This means that the EPS of the public sector company rose from Rs. 13.05 per to Rs. 29.33. The revenues have also increased two times to become Rs. 25 billion.

Rise in the price of the alloy is the principal reason behind the rise. And the rising demand for steel in cars and air conditioners has led to the substantial boost in demand. Figures collected from the London Metal Exchange shows that the price of zinc has increased three times with an average of $2,307 per metric ton. Last year, the data was $1,208.

Post the news, the shares of the company went up by 2.4 per cent to become Rs. 1,239.