The Hindu Business Line : Essar Steel net rises 30% on higher income

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Ahmedabad Jan. 30 Essar Steel Ltd (ESTL) has registered a growth of 47 per cent in total income (net) at Rs 2115.49 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2006, compared with Rs 1,441.57 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year, the company said in a release here on Tuesday.

It said the EBIDTA for the quarter stood at Rs 529.44 crore (Rs 300.67 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year), registering a growth of 76 per cent. Net profit at Rs 179.56 crore (Rs 138.44 crore) was higher by 30 per cent after providing for finance costs at Rs 123.17 crore (Rs 124.62 crore), depreciation at Rs 148.91 crore (Rs 104.04 crore), provision for fringe benefit tax at Rs 2.23 crore (Rs 1.26 crore), deferred tax credit & MAT at Rs 75.57 crore (Rs 69.38 crore).

During the quarter, Essar Steel completed the expansion of steel manufacturing capacity to 4.6 million tonnes at its Hazira complex in Gujarat. The expansion project was completed in 18 months at an investment of Rs 1,975 crore, which ranks among the lowest for a brown-field expansion of comparable scale.

The production of flat products for the quarter under review registered a growth of 14 per cent at 7.55 lakh tonnes (6.64 lakh tonnes).

The release said that the total sales registered a growth of 22 per cent at 7.43 lakh tonnes with exports, showing a growth of 107 per cent at 2.90 lakh tonnes (1.40 lakh tonnes). Domestic sales were marginally lower at 4.53 lakh tonnes (4.70 lakh tonnes). The company's focus on construction, auto and oil & gas segments resulted in a growth of 44 per cent in sales to this segment.

Apart from this, the board of directors has decided to obtain the consent of shareholders to de-list the equity shares of the company from the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange in terms of SEBI (Delisting of Securities) Guidelines, 2003.

Appointments

Also, Mr Rewant Ruia has been appointed as a Director of the company. Mr Robin Bannerjee was also appointed Director (Finance) with effect from February 1 in place of Mr V.G. Raghavan who stepped down from the post. However, Mr Raghavan will continue as a Director on the board.

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