New Delhi, May 29: Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) has managed just a 3 per cent rise in net profit for the quarter ended March at Rs 1,577 crore against Rs 1,531 crore a year ago. High input costs were a drag on profit amid higher sales volume and pricing.
Income rose 13 per cent to Rs 15,079 crore from Rs 13,339 crore in the year-ago period.
Volumes increased to 3.3 million tonnes (mt) from 3.1mt in the year-ago period. Net realisations were up at Rs 38,717 per tonne against Rs 36,000 per tonne a year ago. However, profits for 2011-12 were down 28 per cent at Rs 3,543 crore against Rs 4,905 crore in the previous year. The turnover rose 7 per cent to Rs 50,348 crore from Rs 47,041 crore.
Chairman C.S. Verma attributed the slump in profits for the fiscal to volatile currency and higher costs of inputs such as coking coal. "We had to take a Rs 899-crore hit on account of foreign exchange fluctuation and also high coking coal prices," Verma said.
The average coking coal prices during 2011-12 stood at $288 per tonne on a free-on-board basis against $212 per tonne in the previous year. Higher royalty rates also impacted profits during the quarter.
