SAIL PAT up 124 per cent

The country’s largest steel maker Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has posted a 124 per cent jump in net profit for the third quarter at Rs 1,471 crore, against Rs 656 crore in the year-ago quarter. Sales turnover of the company at Rs 9,657 crore grew by 29 per cent in the quarter.

The SAIL board also announced an interim dividend for the third consecutive year, at 16 per cent of the paid-up equity amounting to Rs 660.86 crore. SAIL had paid an interim dividend of Rs 516 crore at the rate of 12.5 per cent at the end of the third quarter of 2005-06.

The profitability of the company improved mainly due to higher production and sales of saleable steel coupled with improvement in product-mix, productivity and techno-economic parameters as well as higher sales realisations, in spite of increase in costs and railway freight on inputs. While SAIL profited by Rs 500 crore due to higher demand, the balance was a result of increase in price of steel.