JSW Steel has reported a 63 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit at Rs. 483 crore in the March quarter on the back of higher production and better realisation. The steelmaker had reported Rs. 296 crore profit in the year-ago period.

The company also saw the highest quarterly sales of Rs. 14,089 crore against Rs. 9,852 crore a year earlier, registering a rise of 43 per cent.

JSW has declared a divided of Rs. 11 a share and Rs. 1 on cumulative redeemable preference share. Steel production during the quarter was up 49 per cent at 3.15 million tonnes (mt) with the earnings before interest, depreciation, tax and amortisation standing at Rs. 2,529 crore, the highest ever.

The company has received necessary approvals to take up expansion of its Dolvi plant in Maharashtra. The company plans to invest Rs. 3,300 crore to enhance the plant’s capacity to 5 mt per annuam (mtpa) from 3.3 mtpa.

The project is to be financed in the debt-equity ratio of 2:1 and expected to be commissioned by September 2015.

Besides, the company intends to modernise blast furnace-1 at Vijayanagar to increase hot metal capacity to 1.7 mtpa from 0.9 mtpa with an investment of Rs. 720 crore.

The expansions are being undertaken at a specific investment cost of less than Rs. 20,000 a tonne of installed capacity, said the company.

During the March quarter, the company has commissioned a continuous galvanising line of 0.40 mtpa at Vijayanagar and a pellet and coke oven plant at Dolvi. In April 2014, it commissioned a continuous annealing line of 0.95 mtpa at Vijayanagar.

JSW Steel expects its steel production to increase 6 per cent to 12.9 mt in FY15 with saleable steel output rising 5 per cent to 12.4 mt.

The company expects a stable and new Government at the Centre would have a sizeable task to over-ride the structural impediments, garner business confidence and restructure the fiscal space to support investment for securing and sustaining economic growth.

Published on May 31, 2014