mumbai aug 7 novelis the wholly owned subsidiary of hindalco industries today said its net income more than tripled to usd 101 million in the first quarter ended june 2017 on strong operational performance and record shipments the company reported net income of usd 101 million for the first quarter of fiscal year 2018 as compared to usd 24 million the prior year period excluding taxaffected special items the company reported net income of usd 103 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2018 up from usd 33 million in the same period last year a company statement said here the world leader in aluminium rolling and recycling novelis said the yearoveryear increase in net income was driven primarily by higher ebitda and lower interest expense following debt refinancing actions in fiscal 2017 net sales increased 16 per cent to usd 27 billion for the first quarter of fiscal 2018 this was driven by a four per cent increase in total shipments of flat rolled products to 785 kilotonnes including a 16 per cent increase in shipments of higher conversion premium automotive products as well as higher average aluminium prices it said our automotive strategy enhanced operational performance and strong customer relationships resulted in record first quarter shipments novelis president and chief executive officer steve fisher said as more and more automakers turn to aluminium solutions to produce the next generation of vehicles we are actively looking at opportunities to increase capacity to support our customers and reinforce our leadership position in this growing market fisher said ap rmt