Tata Steel Long back in the black in Q3, posts PAT of Rs 304 cr; stk up 13%

The company has posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 112 crore in the year-ago quarter

Shares of Tata Steel Long Products hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 810, zooming 13 per cent on the BSE on Friday, after the company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 304 crore for the quarter ended December 2020 (Q3FY21), on the back of strong operational performance. The Tata group company had posted a consolidated a net loss of Rs 112 crore in December 2019 quarter (Q3FY20).

The company's revenue from operations grew 37 per cent YoY at Rs 1,364 crore as against Rs 999 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal. Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) margin stood at 30.06 per cent in Q3FY21.

Despite maintenance shutdowns during the quarter under review, the company achieved the highest ever quarterly crude steel production with a growth of 3 per cent quarter on quarter (QoQ) and 10 per cent year on year (YoY) on the back of debottlenecking and arcing.

Tata Steel Long Products saw strong steel sales momentum in Q3FY21 but sales volumes were constrained by lower opening inventory post very strong sales in Q2FY21. As a result, deliveries were 166KT in Q3FY21, lower by 10 per cent on QoQ but increased by 2 per cent on YoY basis, the company said on January 8.

Tata Steel Long Products is in the business of manufacturing high alloy steel, primarily for the auto sector and wire rope industry. With one million tonne capacity, it is one of the largest specialty steel plants in India in long product segment.

In the past one month, the stock rallied 58 per cent, as compared to a 7 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. At 10:20 am, it was trading 9 per cent higher at Rs 783, as against a 0.41 per cent decline in the benchmark index. The trading volumes on the counter more-than-doubled with a combined 1.7 million equity shares changing hands on the NSE and BSE till the time of writing of this report.