Hit by a sharp decline of over 35 per cent in sales, Jindal SAW today reported 27.46 per cent decline in its standalone net profit at Rs 37.08 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2013.
The leading steel pipe maker had reported a net profit of Rs 51.12 crore during the corresponding quarter of 2011-12.
It did not publish the consolidated results for the fourth quarter.
Net sales of the company were down 35.50 per cent at Rs 979.04 crore during the quarter vis-a-vis Rs 1,518 crore of Q4 of FY’12, it said in a filing to the BSE.
Its total expenditure, at Rs 913.16 crore, amounted to 92.79 per cent of net sales during the quarter. Besides, its interest costs rose by nearly 28 per cent to Rs 38.29 crore in the last quarter.
In a separate statement, the company said that it produced 2,00,000 tonnes of pipe and sold about 1.75 lakh tonnes during the fourth quarter.
“The production and sales remain on lower side on the back of adverse market conditions and weaker order book,” it added.
For the full year ended March 31, 2013, the company reported a net loss of Rs 18.87 crore due to two extraordinary items, which results in Rs 86.21 crore outgo for the company.
The extraordinary items include a loss of Rs 69.59 crore on sale of vessels by a subsidiary of the company.
Jindal SAW’s net sales in the last fiscal rose by 12.11 per cent at Rs 6,755.97 crore vis-a-vis Rs 6,026.39 crore of FY12.
As on March 2013, the company had a total order book of about $620 million for producing various types of pipes. At the end of last year, the company had a standalone debt of Rs 3,100 crore.
Jindal SAW also intends to raise additional long term funds during the current fiscal to meet its capital expenditure requirements.
According to the company, construction of small dia ductile iron (DI) plant with blast furnace capacity of 2 lakh tonnes per annum is nearing completion and it is looking to streamline operations by June-July.
Besides, it intends to spend Rs 250 crore for setting up a 2.5 lakh per annum sponge iron and steel ingot plant in Rajasthan.
Giving its outlook, the company said that market for seamless tubes is likely to remain weak for some more time.
However, the DI pipe segment has started showing improvements and company is hopeful of emerging as one of the leading DI pipe manufacturer after completion of its new plants in Gujarat and Abu Dhabi.
Shares of the company closed today at Rs 76.60 apiece on the BSE, up 1.06 per cent from the previous close.