Tata Steel reports consolidated Q4 net profit at Rs 146.88 billion

The Indian steelmaker saw an exceptional gain of 113.76 billion in the quarter

Steel giant Tata Steel on Wednesday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 146.88 billion for the quarter ended March 31, 2018.

The company had clocked a net loss of Rs 11.68 billion in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year, it said in a BSE filing.

The total consolidated income of the company increased to Rs 364 billion in January-March 2018 from Rs 354.5 billion in the same quarter of 2016-17.

Total expenses of the company stood at Rs 326.20 billion during the quarter under review, as against Rs 311.32 billion in the year-ago period.

T V Narendran, chief executive officer and managing director of the company, said, “Tata Steel performance has been robust in FY18 driven by our strong execution strategy and supported by favourable global demand-supply balance. During the year, our Indian operations delivered volume growth better than the market on the back of the ramp-up at our Kalinganagar plant and the strength of our marketing network and brand equity.” He said growth was broad-based across marketing segments and added that Tata Steel Europe had a good quarter despite currency headwinds.

“The UK pension scheme restructuring process has also been completed. The 50:50 JV discussion with ThyssenKrupp is progressing well and we are committed towards building a strong European portfolio,” Narendran said. He added that the company continues to execute its strategy of expanding footprint in India.

“Kalinganagar Phase 2 expansion is progressing well, which will take our capacity from 13 million tonnes (MT) to 18 MT of crude steel. I am also happy to share that the National Company Law Tribunal has given its approval on our resolution plan for Bhushan Steel. We have also received approval from the committee of creditors for this transaction,” he said.

On the steel outlook, he said the company is closely watching the developments in global steel trade because of US’ protectionist measures and added, “However, we continue to be bullish on steel prices and spreads with improving demand situation in India.”

Koushik Chatterjee, executive director and chief financial officer, said FY18 has seen a good year for the company and the group delivered a strong top and bottom line growth. “We completed two large financing transactions, which apart from providing funds also gives us significant flexibility to pursue our growth plans. Our $1.3 billion international bond issue in January 2018 helped us extend our maturity profile. We also successfully completed a $2bn Rights Issue, one of the largest equity issuance in India,” he said. 

The shares of the company closed at Rs 622.05 apiece on the BSE, down 0.32 per cent from the previous close.