State-run iron ore miner NMDC today posted 58.8 per cent decline in standalone net profit at Rs 655.04 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2015, due to fall in iron ore prices.
The company had reported a net profit of Rs 1,593.01 crore in the year-ago period.
Net sales of the company too declined 48.5 per cent to Rs 1,517.19 crore during the quarter compared to Rs 2,944.39 crore in the year ago period, NMDC said in a filing to the BSE.
A company official said decline in the net profit was "due to drop in prices of iron ore. The sales (of iron ore) have also come down."
Revenue from iron ore during the quarter dropped to Rs 1,485.96 crore, from Rs 2,907.79 crore in the year-ago period. Revenue from other minerals and services also declined to Rs 31.23 crore during the quarter under review, from Rs 41.07 crore in the October-December quarter of previous fiscal.
The miner had cut prices of ore by Rs 300 to Rs 1,800 a tonne in December due to subdued demand and weak global cues.
The PSU has reduced the prices of higher grade iron ore by 57 per cent to Rs 1,800 a tonne for December last year as compared to Rs 4,200 a tonne in January 2015.
Considering the global iron ore supply-demand scenario, analysts had predicted a downward revision in prices by NMDC.
In a separate filing to BSE, the company said its board "has declared first interim dividend at the rate of Rs 9.50 per equity share of face value of Rs 1 each for the financial year 2015-16."
The first interim dividend declared shall be paid/dispatched as per the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013, it said.
Shares of NMDC closed at Rs 78.70 apiece on BSE, down 0.76 per cent from the previous close.
