Mumbai, April 29 (IANS) Government-owned Steel Authority of India (SAIL) Friday reported a 27.6-percent decrease in the net profit for the quarter ended March 31 at Rs.1,507 crore, owing to sharp rise in input costs and a higher wage bill.
However, the net sales during the same period grew to Rs.13,136 crore, the company said in a regulatory filing.
For the entire fiscal 2010-11, the steel manufacturer saw its net profit decline 27.73 percent to Rs.4,881 crore. But the net sales for the year rose to Rs.47,041 crore.
‘Our organic growth plans are moving in the right direction at desired pace, and with steel demand likely to grow significantly, it is only a matter of time that we would start reaping full benefits of the new facilities,’ said C.S. Verma, chairman of SAIL.
During the quarter under review, the company produced 3.43 million tonnes of steel, a growth of 5 percent over the corresponding period last year.
For the whole of 2010-11, the company produced 12.89 million tonnes of steel, a rise of two percent over the previous fiscal with capacity utilisation at 116 percent.
‘To realise SAIL’s vision of becoming a global player, we are working on multiple fronts at the international level by adopting the inorganic route and strategic tie-ups, aimed at backward, forward and lateral integration,’ Verma added.
At the Bombay Stock Exchange the shares of the company closed 1.05 percent lower at Rs.160.
