JSPL reports Rs 279-cr net profit in Jul-Sep qtr

Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) Tuesday reported a net profit of Rs 279.17 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2018, led by a sharp growth in iron and steel revenue.

The company had incurred a loss of Rs 499.48 crore during the same quarter a year ago, JSPL said in a BSE filing.

Its total income rose by 63 per cent to Rs 9,983.16 crore from Rs 6,124.78 crore in the year-ago period.

Total expenses were at Rs 9,892.06 crore in July-September 2018 against Rs 6,674.42 crore in July-September of 2017-18 fiscal.

On a standalone basis also, JSPL reported a net profit of Rs 382.66 crore as against a loss of Rs 255.23 crore in second quarter of the preceding financial year.

Standalone income rose by 86.72 per cent to Rs 6,848.78 crore in the quarter compared to Rs 3,667.77 crore in the year ago-quarter.

The company also said that its total expenses during the said quarter were at Rs 6,655 crore as against Rs 3,958 crore in September quarter of 2017-18 fiscal.

In a separate statement, JSPL said it produced 1.67 million tonne (MT) steel in the second quarter, up 27 per cent from 1.32 million tonnes in July-September period of 2017-18 fiscal.

Sales also rose 38 per cent to 1.75 MT from 1.27 MT in the year-ago quarter.

In Oman, Jindal Shadeed recorded production of 0.38 million tonnes of crude steel as against 0.43 million tonnes in the second quarter last fiscal. The rebar mill at Oman achieved production of 0.23 MT in September quarter, JSPL said.

The Mines at Mozambique, JSPL said, "produced 0.5 MT ROM (run of mine) in Q2 FY19 and continue to ramp up." The Wongawilli mines in Australia continued to ramp up and produced approximately 115 KT (kilo tonne), while Russell Vale mines continues to be under care & maintenance, the company added.

On the outlook for the domestic steel sector, JSPL CEO N A Ansari said, "India remains steadfast in its steel demand growth, backed by government spending in infrastructure, roads, rails, transmission and housing. The growth in housing demand is now more widespread with pick up in villages & tier-2 and tier 3 cities and towns balancing out the listlessness in big cities." With continued measures by the government to protect the steel industry, the outlook for the domestic steel demand remains robust with steel demand growth expected to outstrip the capacity additions in the coming years, he said.

The CEO further said that coal shortage has severely impacted thermal power generation during the second quarter of the ongoing fiscal.

"A very large number of power plants had critical coal stocks and had to default in meeting PPA (power purchase agreement) obligations. In addition to the domestic coal scarcity, problems for the domestic power players were amplified with increasing international coal prices, depreciating rupee and increased generation from wind and hydro during the monsoon season.

"With the effect of monsoon almost over, coal production is expected to rise and subsequent more coal e-auctions by Coal India subsidiaries could help thermal power plants to scale up the generation," Ansari added.

Shares of the company today ended 0.75 per cent up at Rs 182.40 apiece on BSE.

(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)