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JSW Steel reported a loss of ₹107 crore against profit of ₹656 crore in the same period last year, largely due to lower realisation.
Net sales were down 13 per cent to ₹11,382 crore (₹13,067 crore), despite the sales volume increasing eight per cent to 3.11 million tonnes.
The company has refinanced $500 million debt at lower rate and managed to bring down the average interest cost to 7.19 per cent from 8.3 per cent.
It plans to refinance debt of ₹2,700 crore at one per cent lower cost in the September quarter, despite banks expressing concern over exposure to steel industry on the whole.
Seshagiri Rao, Joint Managing Director, said the company's profit was hit by the eight per cent fall in steel prices and high cost inventory of about one million tonnes.
Going ahead, he said, the cheap imports from China, Japan and Korea pose a major challenge, and cannot be faced by the industry unless the Government imposes safeguard duty like some other countries.
“We are doing whatever is under our control by cutting cost, reaching newer markets and increasing the quantum of value added product in sales.” In the June quarter, the value added product sales accounted for 33 per cent of overall sales against 29 per cent in the same period last year.
The company has added 950 dealers and retailers last quarter largely in north, south and eastern regions as it is now focusing more on domestic markets with exports drying up.
“We almost exhausted high cost iron ore imported in the last few months and will start sourcing it from domestic markets," he said.
The company expects steel prices to come down in the September though there is a revival in domestic demand.
On the company's overseas operations, Rao said the concern on revival in the US pipe mill remains as it faces the onslaught of cheap imports from China. The pipe mill reported an EBITDA loss of $9.40 million in the June quarter. The Chile iron ore mine has suspended operations due to sharp fall in ore prices.
Shares of the company were up 0.17 per cent at ₹812 on Wednesday.
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