Tata Steel reports Rs 2.1k-cr loss
TIMES NEWS NETWORK Mumbai: Tata Steel, the flagship company of the tea-to-telecom Tata group, has slipped into the red as sluggish global demand weighed on its European operations. The company reported a consolidated loss of Rs 2,121 crore in FY10 compared with a net profit of Rs 4,849 crore in FY09. Total income was lower by 31% at Rs 102,393 crore as the company’s European outfit Corus reduced capacity in the first half of the year due to the financial crisis. The turnover also contracted because of a collapse in steel prices globally. Kirby Adams, managing director of Tata Steel Europe, said, “The year (2009-10) has been a year of huge transformation, a period of change and a period of recovery for Tata Steel Europe. There has been a dramatic turnaround in the company’s performance during the second half of the year.’’ Adams said though steel prices in the second half of FY10 were better than the first half of FY10, the company’s performance was aided by strong order book leading to higher capacity utilisation and reduction in costs by 24% or $300 million. As a result, Tata Steel Europe reported a positive operating profit of Rs 2,303 crore in the second half of FY10. The management said that iron ore (input for making steel) prices have been moving northwards and, therefore, steel prices are expected to increase in the near term. However, the company remains concerned about the fragile European economy and its impact on steel consumption. On a standalone basis, Tata Steel’s net profit marginally declined to Rs 5,047 crore in FY10. Total income, however, rose from Rs 24,316 crore to Rs 25,022 crore during the period under review. Tata Steel’s managing director Hemant Nerurkar said that the group’s Asian operations (including India, Singapore and Australia) performed better and its contribution to the group’s crude steel production increased 37% in FY10. The company announced the financial results after the close of market hours and its shares ended at Rs 484, up 1.21%, on the BSE on Wednesday. Tata Steel’s consolidated net debt stood at $9.8 billion as on March 31, 2010. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""GLOBAL SPECULATORS"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/globalspeculators?hl=en.
