SAIL net drops 59% to Rs 1103 cr

BS 200 SCORECARD

Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) has reported 58.8 per cent drop in net profit to Rs 1103.2 crore in the fourth quarter ending March 31, 2006 compared with Rs 2677.99 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal.

Total income stood at Rs 9,378.92 crore for the fourth quarter of 2005-06 compared with Rs 9,533.88 crore in the same quarter of 2004-05.

The board has recommended a dividend of 20 per cent on paid-up equity amounting to a payout of Rs 826 crore, which includes a 12.5 per cent interim dividend declared in February this year.

SAIL also reported a similar fall in net profit of 41 per cent to Rs 4,103 crore for the fiscal ended March 31, 2006 compared with Rs 6,817 crore in the previous fiscal on the back of rising coal prices and a fall in prices of finished steel.

The steel behemoth's turnover, however, saw a marginal increase in turnover by 1.5 per cent to Rs 32,800 crore compared with Rs 31,805 crore in 2004-05.

The results includes the financial performance of the 130-year-old Indian Iron and Steel Company, which was merged with SAIL in February 2006.

With global demand for steel pushing up prices combined with falling coal prices, the company expects to put up a better performance in the present fiscal.

"The company is surging ahead on the tremendous strengths of its human resources, available infrastructure and financial strength. With the current trends of steel prices improving and price of coking coal reducing, the adverse impact on profitability will be substantially neutralised in the coming months. Envisaging higher production and productivity, SAIL is confident of meeting any competitive challenge from domestic and global players," chairman V S Jain said in a statement.

Jain also said SAIL would raise its production of hot metal steel by 1 million tonne in the current fiscal year.

"In April-May, we usually take a shutdown and realigning of blast furnaces will help us raise production by a million tonne this year," he said.

The group registered a consolidated net profit of Rs 4,061.01 crore after minority interest in 2005-06 which was at Rs 6,894.22 crore for the previous fiscal.

Consolidated total income stood at Rs 29,599.08 crore during 2005-06, which was Rs 31,382.85 crore in 2004-05.