The Business Bytes
TBB BUREAU
NEW DELHI, MAY 24, 2022
State-owned Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) on Tuesday reported a 28 per cent fall in its consolidated net profit to Rs 2,478.82 crore for the fourth quarter (Q4FY22) ended March 2022, mainly on account of higher expenses.
SAIL had clocked Rs 3,469.88 crore net profit during Q4FY21, the steel major said in a regulatory filing on Monday.
During the quarter under review, the company’s total income rose to Rs 31,175.25 crore from Rs 23,533.19 crore in the year-ago period.
Total expenses were at Rs 28,005.28 crore against Rs 18,829.26 crore a year ago.
The company’s board has also recommended a final dividend of Rs 2.25 per share for FY22.
SAIL said its “borrowings stood below Rs 13,400 crore as on March 31, 2022”.
In January-March 2022, the company produced 4.60 million tonnes (MT) steel compared to 4.56 MT in the year-ago quarter.
Its sales in the March 2022 quarter rose to 4.71 MT from 4.34 MT a year ago.
“The fourth quarter could not be fully insulated from the unprecedented rise in input costs, especially the price rise of imported coking coal on account of various reasons,” SAIL said.
However, During FY22, SAIL clocked its best-ever performance in production and sales while achieving an all-time high revenue from operation of Rs.1,03,473 crore and EBITDA of Rs.22,364 crore. This performance, backed by an uptick in steel demand and positive business outlook, is an outcome of collaborative and concerted efforts for enhancing production and improve techno-economics parameters while seizing possible opportunities in the market place.
Notwithstanding the challenges, the company has taken several proactive steps to contain costs.
Going forward, the company has plans to meet the twin challenges of higher input costs and market price volatility by undertaking various measures for continual improvement in its processes and products basket.
