Tata Steel which is considered as India’s figurehead steel Company,  has reported  a 89.64% decrease  in its consolidated net profit at Rs.4.33 billion for the quarter ending March 31, 2012, from Rs.41.76 billion in the same period last year.
According to a release here, the company’s total income from operations, however, increased to Rs.339.98 billion for the fourth quarter last fiscal from Rs.338.29 billion for the same period in the previous fiscal.
Tata Steel Group’s profit after tax (after minority interest and share of profit of associates) during the financial year 2011-12 stood at Rs.53.90 billion compared to a profit of Rs.89.83 billion in financial year 2010-11.
Group EBITDA in FY12 was Rs.135.33 billion compared to Rs.171.16 billion in FY11.
“The Indian operations registered robust performance in FY12 amid growth concerns in the domestic market,” Tata Steel managing director H.M. Nerurkar said in the release.
High raw material cost and volume impact hurt domestic operations. Steel demand in emerging markets increased but it dropped in Europe towards the end of the quarter on the back of the Eurozone crisis,” chief financial officer Koushik Chatterjee told reporters in Mumbai. He, however, said global steel demand will improve in the current fiscal with stable raw material prices.
Referring to capital expenditure, Chatterjee said the company would invest close to USD 2.5 billion this fiscal, mainly for the Kalinganagar greenfield project in Odisha, alongside expansion at Jamshedpur. “The company’s net debt increased slightly to Rs 47,697 crore with a debt, equity ratio of 1:1. Going ahead, we will try to maintain this ratio,” Chatterjee said.
Performance of the company in the current financial year was expected to be boosted by the start-up of the brownfield expansion at Jamshedpur, where trial production has begun, Nerurkar said, adding work on the greenfield project in Odisha was on track.