Tata Steel, the country’s oldest steel producer, reported a consolidated loss before tax of Rs 1,499.45 crore in March quarter, as against a profit of Rs 4,252.50 crore in the corresponding period last year on the back of weak revenue and a slew of exceptional items, which further dented the earnings of the company.

In the final quarter of FY20, the company’s topline stood at Rs 32,866 crore, down 20 percent from same period last year as weak demand amid slowing economic growth impacted domestic as well as overseas operations.

Alongside, a slew of exceptional items (most of which were losses) comprising impairments, employee separation compensation, restructuring among others, stood at a total loss of Rs 3,405.85 crore, further hurting company’s earnings in the quarter gone by.

Of the total loss in exceptional item category, provision for impairment in respectof non-current assets held within the European, overseas mining and domestic operations was the highest at Rs 3,141.43 crore.

India operations contributed a loss of Rs 2,009 crore to the total loss reported under the exceptional item category. The single earning item within the exceptional item category was profit on sale of subsidiaries and non-current investment, which was a meager amount of Rs 40.63 crore.

In the period under review, the company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 1,615.35 crore as against a net profit of Rs 2,295.25 crore in the same period last year.

At India operations, the year-on-year fall in revenue was sharper, of nearly 26 percent at Rs 13,698.80 crore in the March quarter. This slashed the operating profit in the period under review to Rs 1,913 crore as against Rs 3,876 crore in the same period last year.

The standalone loss before tax stood at Rs 96 crore in the March quarter as against a profit of Rs 3,865 crore in the corresponding period last year. The net loss at India operations widened further to Rs 437 crore as tax expenses worth Rs 341 crore dragged the bottomline. The company’s net profit in same period last year stood at a profit of Rs 2,491 crore.