Tata Steel Long Products reported a consolidated net loss of Rs133.23 crore ($17.65mn) for the March quarter (Q4) compared to a net profit of Rs24.39 crore in Q4 2019, according to a company release. Quarterly losses widened from Rs112.19 crore in Q3 due to lower sales amid the pandemic.
The company’s consolidated sales rose by 296.86pc to Rs1,008.30 crore in Q4 from Rs254.07 crore in the prior year quarter primarily due to the acquisition of Usha Martin. Tata Steel Long Products, formerly known as Tata Sponge Iron, was renamed post its acquisition of Usha Martin Limited (UML), which has a specialty steel plant with an annual capacity of 1mn mt.
For FY2020, Tata Steel Long Products’ consolidated net loss was Rs 516.23 crore compared to a net profit of Rs124.39 crore in FY2019. Sales increased by 252pc to Rs3,490 crore from a year ago.
The company stated that the nationwide lockdown imposed to control the spread of COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the company’s production and sales due to logistics issues and reduction of demand from end-user industries. Tata Group expects the pandemic to lower demand for the company’s products in the short term and expects a gradual return of normal conditions.
Production
In Q4, Tata Steel Long Products’ sponge iron production dipped by 9pc to 200,000mt from 220,000mt in the prior quarter. Crude steel production was flat at 160,000mt from the prior quarter. During the lockdown, the company had halted sponge iron production and cut crude steel production by 50pc. Despite this, due to the addition of Gamharia unit through the UML acquisition, the company’s sponge iron production in FY2020 rose 73pc to 760,000mt from the prior year.
In terms of sales, sponge iron sales volume in Q4 was 160,000mt, down 15pc from Q3, while steel sales were as down by 12pc to 140,000mt from the prior quarter. For the full year, sponge iron sales volumes increased by 43pc to 630,000mt from 440,000mt in the prior year and steel sales volumes were at 510,000mt.
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