Jindal Stainless Q3 net loss at Rs 301 cr

Jindal Stainless' (JSL) net loss widened to Rs 301 crore during the third quarter ended December 31, 2013 on the back of increased finance costs and rupee depreciation.
The company had reported a net loss of Rs 257 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.
During the December 2013 quarter, total income of JSL rose by about 17 per cent to Rs 3,015 crore vis-a-vis Rs 2,584 crore of Q3FY'13, the company said in a statement today.
"Interest cost for the quarter has increased by around 19 per cent to Rs 313 crore as compared to previous year corresponding period figure of Rs 263 crore, on account of conversion of certain foreign currency loans into INR loans and higher utilisation of working capital facilities," it said.

It said, "during the third quarter, it has achieved stainless steel melting production of 289,528 tonnes, ferro alloys production of 35,128 tonnes which are around 10 per cent and 109 per cent up respectively as compared to previous year corresponding period figures."
The stainless steel sales volume also witnessed an increase of around 14 per cent to 260,772 tonnes during the same period.

"However, net power generation is of 263 million units which is around 7 per cent down y-o-y," it added.
In its outlook the company "We estimate that the stainless steel industry would continue to grow between 5-6 per cent globally. In India, in spite of various odds, stainless steel industry has the potential to grow at around 8-9 per cent provided the government is able to take certain steps on war footing."

The shares of the company closed at Rs 35.15 apiece, down 2.63 per cent from the previous close on the BSE.