Tata Steel net up 12%

BS 200 SCORECARD

Tata Steel has posted a 12.4 per cent growth in net profit to Rs 1,045.42 crore in the quarter ended September 30 as compared with Rs 929.58 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

Sales stood at almost 1.8 million tonne as compared with 1.2 million tonne in the same period last year, a rise of almost 50 per cent. The output was boosted by the one million tonne capacity plant in Jamshedpur, which was streamlined.

Profit before tax stood at Rs 1,535.18 crore, a 6 per cent increase from Rs 1,453.23 crore in the same quarter last year. For the first six months ended September 30, the net profit stood at Rs 1,969.53 crore, a 18 per cent increase from Rs 1,675.07 crore in the same period last year.

Profit before tax saw almost a 10 per cent increase at Rs 2,919 crore from Rs 2,651.85 crore. The total sales increased from 1.93 tonne to 2.05 tonne over the same period, an increase of over 6 per cent.

The comparative figures of the previous quarter and six months don't include the statistics of NatSteel Asia , which became a subsidiary of Tata Steel in February last.

Tata Steel commissioned its largest blast furnace in April after raising hot metal capacity to 5.2 million tonne from 4.35 million. But profit margins are under pressure as companies cut steel prices to reduce inventory build-up and counter cheaper imports.