Total expense rose to Rs 20,752 crore, against Rs 17,056 crore a year ago.
JSW Steel on Friday posted a manifold jump in its consolidated net profit to Rs 4,191 crore for the quarter ended March 31, and said it will spend over Rs 25,000 crore on projects in Odisha, Karnataka and Jammu & Kashmir.
The company had clocked a net profit of Rs 188 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year, JSW Steel said in a BSE filing.
Its total income in January-March 2021 jumps to Rs 27,095 crore, compared with Rs 18,009 crore in the year-ago period.
Total expense rose to Rs 20,752 crore, against Rs 17,056 crore a year ago.
On a standalone basis, JSW Steel’s net profit grew to Rs 4,018 crore, from Rs 242 crore a year ago.
The standalone total income during the said quarter was at Rs 24,593 crore, higher from Rs 15,423 crore in the same period of financial year 2019-20.
The expenses were at Rs 18,256 crore as against Rs 15423 crore in the year ago period.
In a separate statement, JSW Steel said the profit, both on standalone and consolidated basis, is its “highest-ever net profit after tax (PAT)”.
The debt has come down by Rs 858 crore to around Rs 15,000 crore during 2020-21, the company said.
In January-March 2021, the company produced 4.19 million tonnes (MT) of crude steel, registering a six per cent year-on-year rise. While sales rose 11 per cent to 4.06 MT in the quarter under review.
JSW Steel said its exceptional fourth quarter performance was due to strong domestic demand, supplemented by exports and improved steel prices.
The global and Indian economies showed remarkable recovery supported by large fiscal and accommodative monetary stimulus extended by governments and central banks that facilitated faster V-shaped recovery, it added.
It said the pandemic has been a ‘Black Swan event’ for the global economy and humanity. The global and Indian economies swiftly recovered, supported by strong fiscal and monetary stimuli.
The domestic and global steel demand also bounced back strongly, while the supply is constrained, leading to a steady increase in prices from low levels. Subsequent waves have been dampeners to this recovery, depending on the severity of the wave and extent of lockdowns, the company added.
However, subsequent lockdowns have generally been less stringent and more localised, and India is in the midst of a severe second wave. While the lockdowns are less stringent and vary from state to state, compared to the national lockdown imposed in 2020, the spread of the pandemic and resulting human impact is unfortunately more severe.
JSW Steel further said its board also has approved some key projects, which will enable the firm to continue to meet the growth in steel demand in India, with the government’s national steel policy projections of 300 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) capacity requirements by 2030.
The new projects approved entail a capital expenditure (capex) of Rs 25,115 crore, including sustenance and other capex of Rs 6,565 crore, spread over 3 years from 2021-22 to 2023-24.
JSW Steel will expand its steel-making capacity by 5 MTPA at Vijayanagar plant from the existing 12 MTPA at a capex cost of Rs 15,000 crore. This is India’s largest single-location steel plant, and its expansion will be completed by 2023-24.
In Odisha, JSW Steel has four iron ore mine leases, and the company has successfully operationalised. The company will enhance its mining capabilities and efficiencies at a capex of Rs 3,450 crore.
Further, JSW Steel will set up a 0.12 MTPA colour-coated downstream steel facility in Jammu & Kashmir. This will entail a capex of Rs 100 crore.
Sharing the details of its ongoing projects, the company said that at Dolvi Works plant in Maharashtra, coke oven battery-d and hot strip mill for the plate rolling have been operationalised. At this plant, JSW Steel is expanding the steel making capacity from five MTPA to 10 MTPA.
The completion work pertaining to the blast furnace and steel melt shop has been impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 disruption, and the company now expects full integrated operations by September 2021.
In Vijayanagar, the 8 MTPA pellet plant was fully commissioned in March 2021 and pellet production is underway.
After the completion of the pickling line and tandem cold mill (PLTCM) project, one out of two continuous galvanising lines (CGL) has also commenced production, and the second CGL will be operationalised by Q2 FY2022.
Source: PTI
(The story has been published from a wire feed without modifications to the text. Only the heading has been changed)
