Tata Steel, the country's oldest steel producer on Tuesday reported a higher-than-expected consolidated net profit of Rs 31.16 billion in the September quarter, up three folds from the corresponding period last year on the back of increased revenues which also included the recently acquired Bhushan Steel.

The company had reported a bottomline of Rs 10.18 billion in September quarter last year.

The company's net sales in the period under review stood at Rs 429.46 billion, up 34 per cent from same period last year because of better realisations and increased volumes with Bhushan Steel contributing full quarter for the first time since acquisition.

As per Bloomberg estimates, the company's consolidated topline was seen at Rs 408.05 billion, while the bottomline was expected to be at Rs 26.06 billion in the quarter gone by.

"Tata Steel Group has delivered extremely strong results this quarter driven by robust operational performance and favorable business conditions in India. This quarter, despite a seasonally weaker period, we sold 4.32 million tonne across Tata Steel standalone and Bhushan Steel," T V Narendran, chief executive officer and managing director told reporters at the earnings press conference held here.

Meanwhile, Tata Steel India operations reported an EBITDA per tonne of Rs 19,000, which was the highest in six years, informed the management. The EBITDA margin of the domestic operations were at 34 per cent in the period under review, said the company.

“This has been one of the best ever quarters for Tata Steel India on the back of strong operating and market performance," said Koushik Chatterjee, executive director and chief financial officer."The Bhushan Steel integration and synergies have also been on track and that is reflected in the Bhushan Steel EBIDTA margin of Rs 10,291/t," he added.

However, at the consolidated level, due to unplanned shutdown and stoppages both in Ijmuiden and Port Talbot at company's European operations, the EBITDA reported in the quarter gone by stood at 20 per cent.

Going ahead, the company plans to focus on domestic market to increase its revenue stream.

"We continue to work on our strategy of increasing our Indian footprint as we ramp up operations at Bhushan Steel and implement our 5 million tonne expansion at Tata Steel Kalinganagar. In line with this, we have also signed definitive agreements to acquire the 1 million tonne steel business of Usha Martin which will strengthen our longs products capability," informed Narendran.

With regard to the company's status on joint venture with Thyssenkrup. Narendran said, "We are making good progress on the TSE ThyssenKrupp JV. We are in discussions with the European Commission for the phase II review which typically takes 90 days."

"We are in constructive engagement and are addressing all concerns of European Commission as well as ThyssenKrupp," Chatterjee added.

During the quarter, Tata Steel Group generated operating cash flows of Rs 77.69 billion. The liquidity position of the Group remains strong at Rs 264.70 billion, including Rs 144.78 billion of cash and cash equivalents, said the company.

"One of our key priorities going forward is to reduce our leverage by around a billion dollars in the next 12 months from the internal cash flows and other strategic initiatives on the portfolio,” said Chatterjee.

As on September 30, 2018, the company's consolidated net debt stands at Rs 1040 billion, while its gross debt was at Rs 1180 billion. The management said it will not look to have any major capex for the newly acquired Bhushan Steel in the term and may also look to monetise its portfolio in order to lower the debt on its books.

Meanwhile, in Europe, part operations will continue to remain shut even in the December quarter. "While Ijmuiden has come back to its normal level of operations, the Blast Furnace 5 in Port Talbot is undergoing major repairs for life extension and will be out operation for this quarter," informed Chatterjee.