SAIL Q1 loss widens to Rs 801 cr; expenses rise by 27%

Total standalone income of the company rose by 25.39% to Rs 13,072.77 cr

State-run steel maker SAIL’s standalone net loss widened to Rs 801.38 crore for the June quarter due to higher expenses.

It had clocked a net loss after tax of Rs 535.52 crore in the corresponding quarter of 2016-17, the company said in a BSE filing.

Total standalone income of the company rose by 25.39 per cent to Rs 13,072.77 crore in April-June this fiscal from Rs 10,424.95 crore during the same quarter in 2016-17. Its total expenses rose by 27.03 per cent to Rs 14,349.89 crore in the quarter under review as against 11,296.16 crores in the year-ago period.

During the quarter, the company was impacted by higher price of imported coal and 25 per cent higher price on account of indigenous coal pushing down the overall profit margin despite a 14 per cent higher Net Sales Realisations (NSR) over the same quarter last year, an official statement said.

During the period due to Cyclone Debbie the supplies of coking coal from Australia were adversely impacted, resulting in lower production volumes of saleable steel, the statement said.

However, the techno-economic parameters showed improvements with respect to Coal Dust Injection (CDI), coke rate, blast furnace productivity and production through the more efficient continuous casting route.

“With the imported coal availability stabilizing and focus on ramping up the new units, the situation will improve in coming quarters. We have drastically reduced production from inefficient units and are optimizing the coal blend in operations to reduce costs. These steps will surely translate into improved financials going forward,” PK Singh Chairman SAIL said.

In order to increase its market share, the company SAIL is making effort for cost optimisation. Manpower optimisation initiatives are being implemented in right earnest for effective utilisation of human resources, improved productivity, cost reduction and improved age-mix, he said.

Shares of the company closed at Rs 56.55 apiece on the BSE, down 3.99 per cent over the previous close.