Tata Steel profit falls 70 pct on provisions, tax expense

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Steel producer Tata Steel Ltd's first quarter consolidated net profit slumped 70 percent, hurt by provisions for impairment of non-core assets and a higher tax expense.

The company posted net income of 3.37 billion rupees($55.01 million) in the three months ended June 30, compared with 11.39 billion rupees a year earlier.

Net sales jumped 11 percent to 361.43 billion rupees, helped by an increase in European demand.

The company's management has intensified cost cuts and focused on high-margin products to boost sales at Tata Steel Europe, which contributed close to 57 percent of the company's total steel production last year.

 

(1 US$ = 61.2625 Indian rupee)

(Reporting by Aman Shah in Mumbai; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath)