Tata Steel swings back to profit in Q1 at Rs 921 cr

Sales volumes were boosted by ramp-up of its Kalinganagar plant

Tata Steel Ltd swung to a first-quarter profit from a loss a year ago, as sales volumes were boosted by the ramp-up of its Kalinganagar plant.

The steelmaker's net profit came in at Rs 921 crore in the quarter ended June 30, compared to a loss of Rs 3,183 crore a year earlier. 

The company said gross debt in the quarter increased by Rs 4,798 crore due to forex impact.

Consolidated total income rose 19% to Rs 31,129 crore versus Rs 26,107 crore last year, aided by increased capacity in India and Tata's restructuring efforts in Europe, Koushik Chatterjee, group executive director (Finance and Corporate), said.

On sequential basis, the company said, there was inventory destocking across channels in run up to the GST launch, which led to drop in volumes.

Net debt at the end of June 30 was Rs 71,703 crore.

In the June-quarter of last year, Tata Steel registered a loss of 32.96 billion rupees related to the sale of its long products business in Britain to Greybull Capital LLP in May 2016.

The company said total steel deliveries in the first quarter were up about 9%, with domestic deliveries accounting for 47% of the total.

The company said "appreciating rupee remains a cause for concern" but that it "remains positive in the outlook for India steel markets".

Ahead of the results, Tata's shares rose as much as 4.5% to a six-year high.