Jindal Steel net profit falls

Jindal Steel’s July-Sept. consolidated profit fell to 8.75 billion rupees from 8.94 billion rupees a year ago,while sales rose 43 per cent to 44 billion rupees.

A Reuters poll of analysts expected Jindal Steel’s profit to fall 11.54 per cent to 7.91 billion rupees on a sales of 37.3 billion rupees.

The new power plants are still to stabilise… Because of heavy rains,coal got wet and PLF (plant load factor) went down,Maroo said.

The company has added three units with a total capacity of 405 MW in the last two quarters,of which 270 MW are yet to stabilise.

The merchant power tariff for the Sept-quarter was 3.75 rupees a unit and is expected to hover around 4 rupees next year as power supply gets constrained because of fuel shortages and slow environment clearances for new plants,Maroo said.

Power contributed 40 per cent to the company’s profit,with steel accounting for the balance.

Jindal Steel’s profit would have risen about 8 per cent without the exceptional write-off of 740 million rupees on account of investments made in a diamond and copper mine in Congo,Maroo said.

Jindal Steel & Power,valued at about $10 billion,has lost about 17 per cent in three months. Its shares closed down 1.38 per cent at 515.45 rupees on Tuesday in a Mumbai market that fell 1.63 per cent.