Dumping pushes Tata Steel into ₹2,127-cr loss

Tata Steel has reported a consolidated loss of ₹2,127 crore in the December quarter, against a profit of ₹157 crore in the same period last year, largely due to lower realisations in India and abroad.

Net sales were down 17 per cent at ₹27,819 crore (₹33,328 crore in the same quarter last fiscal). The company has made a provision of ₹615 crore for restructuring its European operations.

On a standalone basis, Tata Steel net profit almost halved to ₹453 crore (₹881 crore). Net sales dipped 8 per cent to ₹8,991 crore as against ₹9,824 crore registered in the same period last year.

The company blamed subdued demand following a poor monsoon for the lacklustre financial performance. This apart, imports surged due to excess supply in the global steel markets, a company statement said.

Net imports from Japan, Korea and China into the country were up 67 per cent in the December quarter. This pulled down domestic steel prices sharply in line with international prices, it added.

TV Narendran, Managing Director, Tata Steel, said the company is focusing on measures to bring down cost, increase sale of value-added products and improve exports to realign the company with new market realities. “We expect to commence commercial production at the Kalinganagar plant in Odisha by end of this fiscal. Our South-East Asian operations are stable despite the flood of cheap imports in the region,” he said.

The company has spent ₹8,800 crore so far during the fiscal at Kalinganagar. On the whole, Tata Steel has invested ₹23,000 crore in the much-delayed greenfield project.

Karl-Ulrich Kohler, Managing Director, Tata Steel Europe, said Chinese steel shipments into Europe were up over 50 per cent last year, while imports from Russia and South Korea jumped 25 per cent and 30 per cent respectively. The European steel association has identified that China is exporting steel at prices below the cost of production, leading to unfair trade and undercutting domestic producers, he said.

Shares of the company were up 1 per cent at ₹226 on Thursday.