The Hindu Business Line : Tata Steel net rises 22% at Rs 1,488 cr

Mumbai, July 31 Tata Steel Ltd has posted a 21.78-per-cent rise in its standalone net profit at Rs 1,488.40 crore for the quarter-ended June 30, against Rs 1,222.11 crore logged in the same period of last year,

This is despite a Rs 303.42-crore loss accounted for on the foreign exchange front. Last year there had been a forex gain of Rs 553 crore.

Total income rose 43.48 per cent at Rs 6,177.25 crore for the quarter, against Rs. 4,305.33 crore.

Steel production for the quarter was higher at 1,186,873 tonnes as against 1,064,832 tonnes. Export turnover was at Rs 880.30 crore as compared with Rs 361.34 crore.

Interest costs at Rs 241.73 crore (Rs 41.61 crore) rose multifold.

SEGMENT REVENUES

The steel business accounted for revenue of Rs 5,303.20 crore against Rs 3,816.69 crore. Revenue from ferro alloys stood at Rs 838.98 crore (Rs 318.89).

The company’s notes to the accounts said the notional loss related to foreign exchange fluctuations during the quarter included an unrealised transaction loss of Rs 254.19 crore on the convertible alternative reference securities (CARS) issued in September 2007.

The CARS are convertible into equity shares between September 4, 2011 and August 6, 2012 and redeemable in foreign currency only in September 2012. The proceeds of the CARS were used to fund the company’s investment in the acquisition of the Corus Group, the earnings of which were in foreign currency and would consequently mitigate the exchange fluctuations.

The diluted EPS for the quarter stood at Rs 18.11 as against Rs 17.91.

The company’s stock closed at Rs 654.95 on BSE, up by 3.45 per cent.