Sesa Goa logs Rs 522 cr Q2 profit

Helped by its share of profits in Cairn India,the Vedanta co reported a fine net profit.

Helped by its share of profits in Cairn India,Vedanta group firm Sesa Goa on Friday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 522.04 crore for the second quarter ended September 30,3012.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 1.28 crore during the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

Without Rs 464.63 crore profit,for its 20 per cent holding in Cairn India,the Goa-based iron ore miner would have posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 57.61 crore in the quarter as many factors impacted its performance,its filing with the BSE showed.

This includes a ban on mining in Goa in September by the state government and later by the Supreme Court in October.

Other factors like subdued demand due to rainy season,fall in international iron ore prices and continued mining ban in Karnataka also affected company’s sales and profit in the quarter.

Due to these,Sesa Goa’s net sales was down by nearly one-third to Rs 288.49 crore during the quarter vis-a-vis Rs 784.14 crore of the July-September quarter of FY’12.

Iron ore sales — Sesa Goa’s mainstay– was down to Rs 92.53 crore in the July-September period compared to Rs 593.68 crore of second quarter of 2011-12.

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In terms of quantity,the company sold about 0.2 million tonnes (MT) of iron ore as against 1.6 MT of the corresponding period,it said in a separate statement.

“Iron ore operations were affected by the mining ban in Karnataka,a temporary restriction on iron ore extraction in Goa and transportation restrictions in South Goa during the monsoons,” the company said.

Mining in Goa has been stopped since September 11,when the state government ordered a temporary suspension on extraction of ore across Goa. After that,Union Environment Ministry suspended existing environmental clearances of mines and is verifying documents.

On October 5,the Supreme Court ordered complete ban on mining,including transportation of mined ore from mines or stockyards and asked an apex court appointed empowered panel to file a preliminary report in four weeks.

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Commenting on the developments,Sesa Goa said that it has submitted all the relevant documents and is “working closely with the regulatory authorities to complete the review processes”.

Talking about its operations in Karnataka,Sesa Goa said it expects to commence mining after Supreme Court approval.

According to the company,the apex court has allowed some mines in Karnataka to resume mining operations last month,in line with recommendations of the court appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) and “has now commenced the process for other mines including our mine”.

It further said its reclamation and rehabilitation plan at a provisional production capacity of 2.29 MT in a year has been approved by the CEC.

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Talking about the Liberia iron ore project,the company said it has completed over 31,000 metres of drilling till September 30,2012 and expects to deliver the first shipment in 2014-15.

Besides,it has secured most of the regulatory approvals for its merger with sister firm Sterlite Industries and has filed petitions for approval in the High Court of Bombay,at Goa and High Court of Madras.

Shares of Sesa Goa today closed at Rs 169.45 apiece on the BSE,up 0.15 per cent from the previous close.

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