May 14: JSW Steel today posted a marginal fall of around 3 per cent in net profit at Rs 769.73 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2012 on the back of a rise in raw material costs and loss in one of its units ' JSW Ispat.
The Sajjan Jindal-led firm had reported a net profit of Rs 793.63 crore in the same period a year ago.
Total net sales rose around 40.83 per cent during the period to Rs 10,152.68 crore.
"Last financial year had been satisfactory despite challenges in the wake of the domestic and international economic problems coupled with special events that took place in Karnataka," Sajjan Jindal, chairman and MD of JSW Steel, said.
He said Ispat was a good long-term buy for the company and would be a fairly sustainable entity by the end of 2013. JSW Ispat suffered a net loss of Rs 141 crore in the fourth quarter against a profit of Rs 70.4 crore a year ago.
The steel producer, which is facing raw material problems after the Karnataka Lokayukta report alleging illegal mining by the company, had a net forex gain of Rs 200.14 crore in the reporting quarter, which offset the losses of JSW Ispat.
For the full fiscal, JSW Steel's consolidated net profit plunged over 69 per cent to Rs 537.68 crore from Rs 1,753.98 crore in 2010-11 because of severe iron ore crisis in Karnataka during the second and third quarters.
This comes despite an over 40 per cent rise in consolidated net sales for the fiscal at Rs 34,123.65 crore over Rs 23,861.57 crore a year ago.
Goodricke blow
Tea producer Goodricke Group Ltd suffered a net loss of Rs 40.82 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2011 against a loss of Rs 25.95 crore in the same period a year ago.
Total income from operations stood at Rs 73.83 crore in the quarter against Rs 65.60 crore in the year-ago period.
"The year saw dry weather conditions in all three tea producing areas ' Darjeeling, Dooars and Assam. Although overall crop has been maintained at last year's level, there has been adverse impact on the valuable first flush Darjeeling crop. Tea prices for Darjeeling and Dooars have firmed up, but Assam orthodox continues to rule weak," the company said.
