JSW Steel posts Q3 net profit at Rs 730 cr

Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Steel today reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 730 crore for the September-December quarter on the back of higher income from operations.
The company had posted a consolidated net loss -- after tax, after share of loss of non-controlling interest and share of loss of associates/joint ventures -- of Rs 709 crore in the year-ago period, JSW Steel said in a BSE filing.
The consolidated income from operations during the quarter increased by 59.6 per cent to Rs 15,312.3 crore, over Rs 9,589.2 crore in the year-ago period.
The company said in a release that the "current quarter was marked by a drag on steel demand due to liquidity issues after demonetisation that led to lower volume of production sales subsequentially".

The impact of long products demand was more pronounced as activity levels in the construction/real estate sectors and retail sales slowed down considerably. In this backdrop, JSW Steel reported crude steel production of 3.86 million tonnes (MT) and saleable steel sales of 3.64 MT, both growing by 43 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) during the quarter.
The company focussed on enriching the product mix and increased value-added and special product sales, which grew 38 per cent Y-o-Y.
Seshagiri Rao, Joint MD, JSW Steel and Group CFO said, "Our rising production and sales volumes despite sluggish domestic demand is a testament to our leading market presence and reliability as a trusted steel producer of the country."

"Focus on improving efficiencies and keeping a tight leash over operating costs helped us offset the impact of a sharp increase in raw material costs to a large degree," Rao said.