Continuing with the deterioration in the financial performance that has been evident since a year back, Tata Steel posted yet another quarter of falling revenue and operating profit.

Weak demand in Europe and India coupled with the surge in steel imports into these countries has hurt Tata Steel in the recent September quarter too.

The company reported consolidated revenue of ₹29,305 crore in the quarter, down 18 per cent from the year-ago period.

And while costs eased, the fall was not steep enough. Operating profit almost halved to ₹1,831 crore during this period.

Sale of investments and lower taxes than in the past though came to the rescue.

It was not a pretty picture at the operational level though. Profit from the Indian operations shrank 40 per cent to ₹1,861 crore in the September quarter.

And in Europe, in a reversal from the past, the business turned loss-making. Blame this on the surge in cheap steel imports from countries such as China.

Rising 30 per cent year-on-year, imports into India rose to 3.2 million tonnes in the recent quarter. During this period, Chinese steel (hot rolled coil) prices fell 16 per cent to $302 per tonne.

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