Tata Steel Q3 Results: Firm Logs Rs 2,501-Crore Net Loss, Total Income Declines To Rs 57,354 Crore

Tata Steel's expenses rose to Rs 57,172.02 crore in the quarter under review from Rs 48,666.02 crore in the year-ago period

Home-grown steel major Tata Steel on Monday clocked a consolidated net loss of Rs 2,501 crore in the quarter ended on December 31, 2022 (Q3), on account of higher expenses. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 9,598 crore in the year-ago period, according to a regulatory filing.

Tata Steel's total income on a consolidated basis declined to Rs 57,354 crore in the October-December quarter from Rs 60,842.72 crore earlier. The company's expenses rose to Rs 57,172.02 crore in the quarter under review from Rs 48,666.02 crore in the year-ago period. In a separate statement, the company said its current debt level stands at Rs 71,706 crore.

During the quarter, Tata Steel spent Rs 3,632 crore on capex. The phased commissioning of its 6 MTPA pellet plant at Kalinganagar site has begun, and work on 2.2 MTPA cold roll mill complex and 5 MTPA expansion is ongoing, the statement said. The work with respect to setting up a 0.75 MTPA electric arc furnace in Punjab has also begun.

"(In December quarter) The British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) with Tata Steel UK as Sponsor has completed a substantial part of its de-risking journey with 60 per cent of its liabilities insured. The buy-in transaction along with actuarial movements has resulted in a non-cash deferred tax expense of Rs 1,783 crores and increased the overall deferred tax expense for the quarter to Rs 2,150 crore," the statement said.

Tata Steel's consolidated steel production fell to 7.56 million tonnes (MT) in October-December 2022-23, from 7.76 MT a year ago, while deliveries rose by 11 per cent to 7.15 MT compared to 7.01 MT in the year ago quarter.

Tata Steel CEO and MD T V Narendran said, "We delivered steady growth in India volumes despite the volatile operating environment. Domestic deliveries stood at around 13.7 MT in the first nine months of the financial year and were up 4 per cent y-o-y. In Europe, our deliveries were lower in 9MFY23 due to slowdown in demand. Recession concerns weighed on steel prices, which coupled with elevated energy costs affected our performance."

Koushik Chatterjee, Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer said, "Global steel prices have witnessed steady moderation amidst inflationary pressures and concerns about economic slowdown in the first nine months of the financial year. Despite this, our consolidated revenues were up 3 per cent YoY. We continue to remain focused on cost optimisation, operational improvements and working capital management to maximise cash flows and are making progress on proposed merger of seven listed and unlisted entities." Tata Steel Group is among the top global steel companies with an annual capacity of 34 MT. 

Meanwhile, Tata Steel shares on Tuesday declined nearly 4 per cent in the early trade after the firm reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 2,501.95 crore for the third quarter. The scrip fell 3.83 per cent to Rs 113.10 apiece in the morning trade on the BSE. On the NSE, it plunged 3.66 per cent to Rs 113.15 per share.