India's largest iron ore producer National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) has reported an 81 per cent increase in net profit for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 to touch Rs 1,518 crore, as against Rs 837 crore in the corresponding quarter of last fiscal. The increase in profit was mostly driven by higher iron ore sales.
Turnover up 65%
During the quarter, the company's turnover increased to Rs 2,621 crore, as against Rs 1,588 crore during the year-ago period, reflecting a jump of 65 per cent. “There was an improvement in iron ore sales performance by 6.86 lakh tonnes during the first nine months of the current fiscal,” the company said in a statement.
The board of directors of the company, at its meeting on Tuesday, approved an interim dividend of Rs 1.15 per equity share.
While domestic sales of iron ore increased by 12 per cent, exports came down by 40 per cent, as NMDC chose to focus on the requirements of the domestic steel industry.