The Hindu Business Line : Essar Steel Q4 net dips to Rs 61 cr

Mumbai June 29 Essar Steel reported a dip in net profit for the quarter ended March 31 2007 at Rs. 61.46 crore, as against Rs 86.37 crore reported in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

During the quarter, the company registered an income of Rs 2,537.59 crore, compared to Rs 1,659.31 crore for the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

For the whole of the fiscal 2007, the company’s net profit was Rs 436.49 crore, as against Rs 530.18 crore in the previous fiscal.

Rising cost of iron ore and energy, besides higher charge for depreciation due to investments made in capacity expansion had an impact on its bottomline, Essar Steel said in a statement. The company however expects the benefits of the investments made to be reflected in the coming years.

During the year, the company completed its capacity expansion to 4.6 million tonnes at its Hazira facility. The pellet plant capacity at its Visakhapatnam facility was also increased to eight million tonnes per annum.