JSW Steel reports Rs 107 cr net loss on alloy price plunge

A sharp fall in steel prices and dumping of cheap steel has hit JSW Steel, which today reported a net loss of Rs 107 crore on a consolidated basis for the first quarter of 2015-16 financial year.
The Sajjan Jindal-led firm had clocked a net profit of Rs 657 crore in the year-ago period.
Total consolidated income of the company also declined by 13 per cent to Rs 11,576 crore in April-June quarter of this fiscal from Rs 13,254.07 crore in the same quarter of the 2014-15 fiscal.
At the stand-alone basis, the company reported a net profit of Rs 30.75 crore as compared to Rs 801.37 crore in the same period a year ago.

"The steel prices have fallen unreasonably by 7-8 per cent during the quarter ended June 2015. The continued cheap imports from China, Japan and Korea has hit the company's working," JSW Steel joint MD and Group CFO Seshagiri Rao told reporters here.
The Indian steel industry continues to suffer from a surge in imports at a price significantly lower than domestic prices in exporting countries, especially China, Japan and South Korea. Japan is selling HR coil at USD 500 per tonne in the domestic market, whereas it is exporting the same to India at USD 350 per tonne, Rao said.

"Several countries have initiated tariff/non tariff barriers to arrest dumping of steel in their markets. We are expecting that government should act expeditiously to stop further damage from dumping to the domestic industry," he added.
During the April-June quarter, the company's crude steel production grew by 10 per cent to 3.4 million tonnes (MT) from 3.1 MT in the year-ago period. Saleable steel production was up 8 per cent to 3.11 MT from 2.88 MT during the same period.