JSW Steel Q4 net down 61.56 per cent at Rs 295.91 crore
Hit by a decline in sales, higher depreciation and interest outgo, JSW Steel reported on Thursday a sharp 61.56 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 295.91 crore for the fourth quarter ended March, 2013.
Its consolidated net sales declined by nearly 3 per cent to Rs 9,851.54 crore in the last quarter of FY13. The steel maker had a net profit of Rs 769.73 crore and net sales of Rs 10,152.68 crore in Q4 of FY'12.
For the current fiscal, the Sajjan Jindal-led company expressed confidence over improving performance and has set a target of 9-10 per cent growth in sales and production.
"We have kept a 10 per cent growth target in steel sales but that is without JSW Ispat. Production target, again without JSW Ispat, is 9.25 million tonnes or 9 per cent growth. This can be achieved given the fact that iron ore availability situation is going to improve in Karnataka," JSW Steel joint managing director Seshagiri Rao said.
He added that the company is hopeful of about 22 million tonnes (MT) of iron ore availability in Karnataka in the current fiscal year.
Moreover, the company, together with JSW Ispat, is looking to produce about 12 MT of steel in the current fiscal year, he said, adding that "formalities to complete the merger of JSW Ispat into JSW Steel are on and it (merger) should not take much time".
Standalone net profit of the company declined by nearly 24 per cent at Rs 573.23 crore during the last quarter of FY13 vis-a-vis Rs 752.18 crore of Q4 of FY'12, it said in a statement.
The company said its consolidated net profit declined due to higher depreciation charges at the standalone firm. Besides, increase in interest outgo and tax payments also hit the company's profitability.
During the quarter, JSW's standalone depreciation charges (at Rs 527.43 crore) rose by nearly 12 per cent, while its interest outgo increased by over 20 per cent at Rs 442.50 crore during the last quarter.
For the full year ended March 31, 2013, JSW reported over 79 per cent growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 963.11 crore compared to a net profit of Rs 537.68 crore despite higher depreciation and increase in interest outgo and tax payments.
On a standalone basis, JSW's net profit during the last fiscal year stood at Rs 1,801.22 crore, registering a growth of nearly 11 per cent. Standalone net sales were up 10.38 per cent at Rs 35,387.63 crore in the last fiscal year.
JSW operates a 10 MT steel plant in Karnataka and 1 MT plant in Tamil Nadu, while its associate firm JSW Ispat has a 3 MT plant in Dolvi, near Mumbai.
Shares in JSW Steel, on Thursday, ended marginally higher at Rs 688.10 apiece on the BSE.
