Tata Steel Back In Black With A Net Profit Of Rs 3,989 Crore In December Quarter

The company's consolidated free cash flow during the quarter stood at Rs 12,078 crore and Rs 20,588 crore during the first nine months of the current financial year, driven by strong operating performance, disciplined capital expenditure, and operating capital management.

(Representative Image/ Getty)

Mumbai: Backed by India's business's strong performance, Tata Steel on Tuesday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 3,989 crore for the  December quarter compared to a consolidated net loss of Rs 1,228.53 crore for the corresponding quarter last year. The rise in profits was reported on 11% year-on-year growth in revenues to  Rs 39,594 crore during the quarter.

Commenting on the results, Tata Steel's CEO & MD T V Narendran said, "The recovery in the global and Indian economy has led to a sharp improvement in steel demand in India. We pivoted our deliveries to domestic markets, to cater to the requirements of our local customers by reducing exports. All the segments, especially automotive, have performed extremely well supported by our continuous focus on strong customer relationships, superior distribution network, brands, and new product developments. We are also making good progress on our various initiatives to de-risk the business while our digital marketing platforms are helping us reach new markets and be future-ready."

The company's consolidated free cash flow during the quarter stood at Rs 12,078 crore and Rs 20,588 crore during the first nine months of the current financial year, driven by strong operating performance, disciplined capital expenditure, and operating capital management.

"The investments in infrastructure and recent policy developments, to drive economic growth, should drive steel demand in India. Given strong market conditions and our success with deleveraging, we have restarted work on the pellet plant and the CRM complex at Kalinganagar which will help in reducing costs and improving revenues," Mr. Narendran added.

Tata Steel has decided to restart the pellet plant and the cold roller mill complex at Kalinganagar. Both the Pellet plant and the Cold Roll Mill complex, once completed, will expand the margin.

Mr. Koushik Chatterjee, Executive Director and CFO, Tata Steel said: "Continuing with the recovery from the deep impact of the pandemic in the first quarter of the financial year, Tata Steel has delivered one of the best financial performance during this quarter with the highest ever consolidated EBITDA of Rs.9,540 crores and free cash flows of over Rs 12,000 crores on the back of strong underlying operating performance of the India business, sharp focus on capital allocation and working capital management. All our operating hubs in India have performed exceptionally well with the stand-alone EBIDTA margin at 37.5%. Our key subsidiaries Tata Steel BSL and Tata Steel Long Products have also reported the highest ever profitability in recent years."

As part of its deleveraging business plan, Tata Steel said it had completed a net debt reduction of Rs 18,609 crore in the first nine months of the current financial year. Ahead of the results, Tata Steel shares on BSE closed down marginally at Rs 699.55 in a flat Mumbai market on Tuesday, valuing the company at Rs 80,161.4 crore.