Oct. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd., the nation’s largest zinc producer, reported a 25 percent decline in second-quarter profit after prices fell.

Net income dropped to 9.59 billion rupees ($203 million) in the three months ended Sept. 30 from 12.8 billion rupees a year earlier, the Mumbai-based company said today in a statement. Sales fell 8 percent to 60.85 billion rupees.

Zinc for three-month delivery averaged $1,730 a metric ton in the period, compared with $1,831 a year earlier, according to London Metal Exchange data. The price of aluminum, which the company also produces, was about 35 percent lower on average in the September quarter, compared with a year earlier.

Sterlite, among the top three performers on India’s benchmark Sensitive Index this year, fell 2.3 percent to 743 rupees at the end of trading today in Mumbai. The shares have almost tripled this year, compared with 66 percent gain in the Sensitive Index.

To contact the reporters on this story: Debarati Roy in Mumbai at droy5@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 29, 2009 06:07 EDT