Jindal Steel and Power today said it will commission 3 million tonnes per annum capacity plant in Orissa by year-end, while announcing a 54.14 per cent rise in its net profit for the October-December quarter.
"We will be starting the Phase-I, which is 3 MTPA steel plant at Angul (Orissa) by the end of the year," JSPL Joint Managing Director Anand Goel told reporters here.
He added the company has replied to the show cause notice of Environment Ministry and construction work has not been stopped there, as the government had issued a show cause notice threatening to revoke its clearance for flouting forest norms at the site in November.
"There is no stoppage in Angul... We have replied to the queries of the ministry (of Environment)."
The company plans to invest Rs 40,000 crore in Orissa to produce 12.5 MTPA steel in phases and generate 2,500 MW power over the next decade.
Talking about results for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 JSPL's Group CFO Sushil Maroo said, "We have posted highest-ever profit at Rs 501.93 crore for the quarter, a jump of 54 per cent against the corresponding quarter of 2009-10."
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The Navin Jindal-led firm had reported Rs 325.62 crore net profit in the October-December quarter last fiscal.
Maroo added that "higher sales realisation and increasing efficiency were the main reasons in increasing the profit margin".
During the third quarter of the current fiscal, JSPL's total income stood at Rs 2,410.23 crore vis-a-vis 1,780.44 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.
Besides this, the company registered a 27 per cent growth in its steel sales, while production of the metal alloy was up by 6 per cent during the quarter. Its sales from power business reported a growth of 7 per cent.
He said that during the quarter, JSPL's plant in Oman (Jindal Shadeed) started commercial production three months ahead of schedule, while adding that the company plans to start shipping iron ore from Bolivia in the ongoing quarter.
"We are not putting any numbers to it or for next financial year. Our effort is to first ship the iron ore from there," he said when asked about the quantity to be shipped from Bolivia.
He added that "the company is not planning to use the iron ore for its captive consumption and it will be sold in neighbouring areas of Bolivia."