HEG Jul-Sep PAT jumps to Rs 889 cr

Graphite electrode maker HEG Wednesday said its profit after tax (PAT) during July-September quarter jumped manifold to Rs 889 crore.

The company had clocked Rs 114 crore PAT during the same quarter a year ago, HEG Ltd, part LNJ Bhilwara Group, said in a statement.

Graphite electrodes are used to melt scrap in electric arc furnaces to produce new steel.

During the said quarter, the firm's revenue was at Rs 1,794 crore, higher from Rs 410 crore in second quarter of 2017-18 fiscal.

The profits were higher as fresh steel making capacities based on the electric arc furnace (EAF) route came on-stream globally and domestic steel makers pushed up production in under used plants, HEG said.

Ravi Jhunjhunwala, Chairman & Managing Director, HEG Ltd said, "We continue to experience robust demand for electrodes on the back of strong growth in global EAF steel sector. In addition, the domestic steel industry expanded by 6.1 per cent in the first nine months of the year. Moreover, the ongoing consolidation in Indian steel capacity and higher production from under-utilised steel assets is also fuelling fresh demand for electrodes".

HEG Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Raju Rastogi said the Indian steel industry, which is undergoing consolidation, will further boost demand for electrodes in the medium-term.

The company's plant located at Mandideep near Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh is the largest single-site integrated graphite electrode facility in the world, it said.

Shares of the company today ended 0.27 per cent up at Rs 4,264.10 apiece on BSE.