Tata Steel has reported that net profit of ₹759 crore in September quarter against a loss of ₹6,511 crore logged in the same period last year, despite lower realisations and a weak demand.
The company’s performance last year was affected by the allocation of ₹6,898 crore for its operations in Europe.
Income in the quarter under review this year was down 3 per cent at ₹54,503 crore (₹55,910 crore). Ebitda during the quarter was up 33 per cent at ₹5,522 crore (₹4,147 crore) while Ebitda per tonne increased to ₹7,345 (₹5,869).
Tata Steel’s net debt stood at ₹88,817 crore. Group liquidity was at ₹26,028 crore, including cash and equivalents of ₹10,575 crore.
The company has completed expansion at Kalinganagar taking its domestic crude steel capacity to 26.6 MTPA.
Operations abroad
TV Narendran, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Tata Steel said global operating environment remained complex, with key regions facing subdued growth.
In the UK, the remaining blast furnace at Port Talbot was closed to pave the way for next generation of green steelmaking. During the quarter, revenues were £600 million and EBITDA loss stood at £147 million. Netherlands revenues were £1,300 million and EBITDA for the quarter was £22 million.
“We have signed the grant funding agreement with the UK government and are progressing on the proposed transition to green steel,” he said.
In UK, it has signed contract with Tenova to deliver a modern Electric Arc Furnace and expects to start large scale site work around next July.
In Netherlands, Tata Steel is in talks with the government support for the decarbonisation of its operations.
Macro-economic conditions in China continued to weigh on commodity prices including steel. In India, steel demand continued to improve but domestic prices were under pressure due to cheap imports, he added.
The company has placed equipment orders for 0.85 MTPA Electric Arc Furnace plant in Ludhiana.
The company has appointed Pramod Agrawal, former CMD of Coal India, as independent director for 5 years. He has about three decades of administrative experience as an IAS Officer in varied fields at State and Central level.
On a standalone basis, the company’s net profit was at ₹3,591 crore against loss of ₹8,491 crore registered in the same period last year. Income was down ₹33,251 crore (₹35,020 crore).
Shares of the company was up one per cent at ₹154 on Wednesday.