Jindal Steel posts consolidated net loss of Rs 399.31 cr in Sep quarter

Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) on Tuesday posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 399.31 crore for the quarter ended September 30.

However, the company had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 279.17 crore in the year-ago period, JSPL said in a filing to the BSE.

These are after-tax figures.

Its total income in the July-September 2019 quarter declined to Rs 8,940.33 crore, over Rs 9,983.16 crore in the year-ago period.

In a statement, the company said the quarter ended September 2019 highlighted the strength in the diversified and the differentiated product profile of JSPL.

Products like rails, structures, plates and other such value-added products helped the company partially offset the steep fall in prices and profitability during the reported quarter, it said.

JSPL, on a consolidated level, produced 1.99 million tonnes of steel and related products and sold 1.82 million tonnes.

The company produced 1.84 million tonnes of crude steel on the consolidated level and sold 1.70 million tonnes.

The net debt for the quarter ended September 2019 was Rs 36,501 crore. The net debt reduced by Rs 1,471 crore, excluding the impact of foreign exchange quarter-on-quarter.

Backed by a slew of measures by the government, including cuts in corporate taxation, increased allocation and spending to infrastructure sector; the demand for steel could be better than the first half of 2019-20.

Seasonally, period from October to March is better in terms of steel consumption with the rains waning and on the back of a pick-up in construction activity, the company said.

JSPL further said it has also emerged as the highest bidder for Gare Palma IV/1 coal block (rated capacity 6 million tonne per annum) in Chhattisgarh in the recently held coal block auctions at a closing bid of Rs 230 a tonne.

"This will help in increasing coal availability for the company's overall operations. It will also help the country in reducing its dependence on coal imports," the statement said.