JSW Steel has reported a 63 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit at ₹483 crore in the March quarter on the back of higher production and better realisation. The steelmaker had reported ₹296 crore profit in the year-ago period.

The company also saw the highest quarterly sales of ₹14,089 crore against ₹9,852 crore a year earlier, registering a rise of 43 per cent.

JSW has declared a divided of ₹11 a share and ₹1 on cumulative redeemable preference share. Steel production during the quarter was up 49 per cent at 3.15 million tonnes (mt) with the earnings before interest, depreciation, tax and amortisation standing at ₹2,529 crore, the highest ever.

The company has received necessary approvals to take up expansion of its Dolvi plant in Maharashtra. The company plans to invest ₹3,300 crore to enhance the plant’s capacity to 5 mt per annuam (mtpa) from 3.3 mtpa.

The project is to be financed in the debt-equity ratio of 2:1 and expected to be commissioned by September 2015.

Besides, the company intends to modernise blast furnace-1 at Vijayanagar to increase hot metal capacity to 1.7 mtpa from 0.9 mtpa with an investment of ₹720 crore.

The expansions are being undertaken at a specific investment cost of less than ₹20,000 a tonne of installed capacity, said the company.

During the March quarter, the company has commissioned a continuous galvanising line of 0.40 mtpa at Vijayanagar and a pellet and coke oven plant at Dolvi. In April 2014, it commissioned a continuous annealing line of 0.95 mtpa at Vijayanagar.

JSW Steel expects its steel production to increase 6 per cent to 12.9 mt in FY15 with saleable steel output rising 5 per cent to 12.4 mt.

The company expects a stable and new Government at the Centre would have a sizeable task to over-ride the structural impediments, garner business confidence and restructure the fiscal space to support investment for securing and sustaining economic growth.

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