TISCO upbeat on 4th quarter

CALCUTTA, JANUARY 29: India8217;s largest private steel maker Tata Iron and Steel Co expects to benefit from a better product mix, lower costs and higher prices in the last quarter of 1999/2000 April-March, its managing director said.

quot;The last quarter will give a better reflection of price increases,quot; J J Irani told Reuters in an interview. TISCO announced last week that third-quarter net profit jumped to Rs 146 crore 33.5 million from Rs 16.21 crore in the year-ago quarter, helped by an increase in the firm8217;s other income. Analysts said they expected a better operating performance from TISCO because steel prices had increased in the third quarter, but Irani said there were other factors at work.

quot;If somebody takes the trouble to look at our results withsome intelligence and detail, they will see that even without the cement division8217;s sale, the performance of the company is much better,quot; he said. Irani said the company improved its net profit because of a better product mix and lower costs ratherthan higher prices. quot;Quite a few of them have been effected during the third quarter and quite a few of them in fact after the quarter has ended,quot; he said. A TISCO spokesman said the company offered different terms to its bulk buyers and the terms of payment, including the credit offered to its customers, were not uniform.