New Delhi, May 31 (IANS): State-run National Aluminium Company (Nalco) on Saturday reported a more than doubling of its net profit of Rs.354.87 crore for the fourth quarter ended March on the back of an exceptional gain as against Rs.172.45 crore in the same quarter a year ago.

The Bhubaneshwar-headquarterd Nalco said in a stock exchange filing that during the quarter in question there was an out-of-court settlement with the Odisha government regarding "disputed electricity duty, interest on unpaid electricity duty and the duty on transmission and transportation (T&T) loss".

The exercise resulted in "increase in profit before tax by Rs.148.42 crore, which has been considered as an exceptional item", it said.

Nalco's total income for the quarter, however, fell by 2 percent to Rs.1,801.25 crore, from Rs.1,838.20 crore in the year-ago period.

For the fiscal 2014-15, Nalco's net profit also more than doubled to Rs.1,321.85 crore from Rs.642.35 crore in the previous fiscal. Total income rose by 9 percent to Rs.7,382.81 crore from Rs.6,780.85 crore during the same period.