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NMDC Ltd reported a 22 per cent drop in March quarter profits at Rs 1,642.28 crore on lower sales over the corresponding last quarter. Sales for the quarter fell 31 per cent to Rs 2,594.58 crore on lower volumes and prices.
Sales stood at 6.45 million tonnes against 8.42 million tonnes in corresponding last quarter. The average prices were lower by about Rs 200 a tonne over last year, NMDC officials said.
A drastic decline in exports during the quarter, against 9.93 lakh tonnes last year, also hit earnings. An exceptional item of Rs 51.30 crore, mainly on account of impairment of windmills in Karnataka, impacted the profits for the quarter.
The Board of Directors recommended a final dividend of Rs 2.50 per share of Re 1 for 2011-12. The company had earlier announced an interim dividend of Rs 2 per share. Its shares ended 1.76 per cent lower at Rs 167.80 on the BSE on Monday.
For fiscal 2011-12, the company reported a net profit of Rs 7,265.39 crore on revenue of Rs 11,261.89 crore. In the year-ended March 2011, it had earned a net profit of Rs 6,499.22 crore on revenue of Rs 11,369.31 crore. The earnings per share on an annualised basis stood at Rs 18.33 per share against 16.39 per share in previous year.
“In the coming years, iron ore production will have to grow exponentially to cope with demands of the customer companies, and also NMDC's own steel plant. The foundation for this growth will have to be laid in 2012-13 with substantial increase in output using internal resources initially,” said Mr C.S. Verma, Chairman, NMDC, in a statement. Mr Verma, the Chairman of SAIL, has been given additional charge of NMDC recently.
Production of iron ore for the year grew 8 per cent to 27.26 million tonnes, while sales were up 4 per cent at 27.30 million tonnes. Domestic iron ore sales were up 13 per cent, while exports were down 85 per cent for the year.
For 2012-13, the company has earmarked of Rs 4,656 crore for expansion programme, including Rs 1,200 crore for overseas acquisitions, a statement said.
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