Tata Sponge Iron, an associate firm of Tata Steel, today reported a 49.47 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 12.81 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2016 on account of lower expenses.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 8.57 crore during January-March 2015.

Its net sales dipped 12.18 per cent to Rs 140.37 crore during January-March 2016 from Rs 159.85 crore during the fourth quarter of 2014-15.

The firm’s total expenses stood at Rs 128.73 crore during the quarter, down 22.52 per cent, against Rs 166.15 crore in the corresponding quarter previous fiscal.

Further, its revenue from sponge business fell 17.48 per cent to Rs 122.88 crore, while power business revenue grew over four-fold to Rs 20.96 crore during the quarter under review.

For the entire 2015-16 fiscal, the firm’s net profit stood at Rs 30.88 crore against Rs 91.94 crore in the 2014-15 period.

Net sales in 2015-16 declined to Rs 571.79 crore against Rs 766.23 crore in the previous year.

Shares of the company were trading 3.53 per cent down at Rs 550.25 apiece on the BSE.