Steel Authority of India (SAIL) has slipped 4% at Rs 109 on reports that the company has paid lower advance tax for the July-September quarter reflecting the likely impact of slowdown in earnings growth.
The other large companies which have paid lower taxes during the second quarter include Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, National Aluminium, Hyundai Motors, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam and Bosch. ICICI Bank paid the same amount as last year.
However, on account of increased advance tax payment by certain companies such as ONGC, Reliance Industries and Tata Steel, the overall collection from top 100 corporates during the July-September quarter was up by 9.86% as compared to corresponding period last fiscal.
Meanwhile, SAIL has fallen 40% in this year to date (underperforming most of its peers and the Sensex by 20%), due to declining steel prices globally; sluggish domestic demand; delays in expansion, input costs and plans to issue and sell equity.
The scrip opened at Rs 111, and around 65,509 have changed hands on the BSE counter, till 1020 hours.