Jindal Steel & Power Ltd (JSPL) reported a 22 per cent drop in standalone net profit to ₹2,072 crore for April–June period. The net profit for the year ago period was ₹2,661 crore.

Standalone gross revenue during the period under review saw a 27 per cent jump y-o-y to ₹14,541 crore against ₹11,473 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal. Lower volumes have off-set higher realisations.

On a standalone basis, the company’s production of 1.99 million tonne (mt), a 1 per cent y-o-y. Sales stood at 1.74 mt during the quarter, up 8 per cent up, Y-o-Y. Pellet production of 1.92 mt declined 11 per cent y-o-y due to negligible external sales.

“Both domestic and export volumes were impacted by challenging market conditions and imposition of export duty in May 2022,” the company mentioned in its statement with exports accounting for 26 per cent of sales in Q1FY23 (vs 29 per cent in 4QFY22).

The company in a statement added that, global steel industry continues to face severe margin pressures due to precipitous fall in steel prices across geographies. After hitting a peak in April 2022, India export Hot Rolled Coil (HRC) have witnessed a sharp fall with spot prices down around 40 per cent from the peak.

Domestic HRC and rebar prices have followed export prices and are lower by 20 - 25 per cent in the past 3 months, it said adding that challenges for the steel industry were further compounded by rising input costs as coking coal prices remained elevated for majority of Q1FY23.

“While the industry continues to face lower steel prices, benefit of lower coking coal should reflect after a lag of 45-60 days,” it said in the statement.

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