Tata Steel posts Rs 1,018 cr profit in Q2

Steel major Tata Steel on Monday reported Rs 1,018 crore consolidated net profit for the quarter ended September 30, 2017 from a loss of Rs 49 crore in the corresponding period last year.

Its turnover, in the quarter under review, stood at Rs 32,464 crore, up by 20 per cent from Rs 27,120 crore in the same period last year.

The steel maker also reported that its production during the quarter was at 6.24 million tonnes (mt), higher from 5.94 mt produced in the year-ago period. Its steel deliveries were at 6.45 mt in the three months period ended September 30, as against 5.61 mt in the year-ago period.

In terms of India operations, revenues during the quarter (net off the impact of excise) were higher by 33 per cent year-on-year primarily due to higher deliveries and improved realisations.

Sales volume growth was broad based and across the verticals. Ebitda for the quarter stood at Rs 3,408 crore, registering a 71 per cent year-on-year growth driven by improved realisations and higher volumes.

"Tata Steel witnessed strong volume growth during the quarter... This is against the backdrop of subdued steel demand during the quarter with slow construction activity, weak rural demand and poor consumer sentiment," said company Managing Director T.V. Narendran.

According to him, its automotive segment grew by 34 per cent year-on-year due to focus on new grade development and new vehicle models.

"Our branded products and retail solutions segment sales grew 14 per cent year-on-year with strong volume growth in emerging customer accounts," he said, adding that during the quarter, the steel maker developed 27 new products across various customer segments.

He also said its South East Asian business operations delivered a "strong operating performance" during the quarter with "higher deliveries and improved spreads".

Company Group Executive Director Koushik Chatterjee said the Group revenues witnessed a sequential growth of 9 per cent primarily driven by increased volumes across the geographies, with India now contributing to 48 per cent of overall deliveries.

However, consolidated Ebitda declined sequentially due to seasonally weaker performance in the European operations, he said.

"Gross debt has increased by Rs 2,450 crore mainly due to increase in working capital lines and forex impact. The liquidity position of the group remains very robust with Rs 19,800 crore in cash and cash equivalents. The capital expenditure for the quarter was around Rs 1,834 crore," he said.

In regards to European operations, the steel maker said revenues were higher by 32 per cent year-on-year reflecting higher deliveries and uplift in the sales of differentiated products.

Tata Steel Europe's MD and CEO Hans Fischer said: "In a relatively stable market environment, we continued to strengthen our sales mix with deliveries of higher value differentiated products increasing by almost 200 basis points in the last year to about 38 per cent of total sales."

The steel maker had signed an MoU for a 50:50 joint venture with thyssenkrupp to create a leading European steel enterprise and had also completed the sale of 42-inch and 84-inch pipe mills in Hartlepool to Liberty House group.

--IANS

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