Delhi [India] Nov 6: Tata Steel on Wednesday reported a consolidated profit after tax (PAT) at Rs 3,302 crore for the quarter ended September 30. Gross debt during the quarter has been pegged at Rs 1,11,549 crore, while net debt stood at Rs 1,06,952 crore.
In a statement, Tata Steel said that during the quarter, the company had a favourable tax impact of Rs 4,233 crore, of which Rs 2,425 crore was on adoption of the new corporate tax rate by Tata Steel Standalone and some subsidiaries in India and Rs 1,808 crore was on account of recognition/reversal of deferred tax assets and liabilities in offshore subsidiaries. “The liquidity position of the group remains robust at Rs 11,858 crore comprising Rs 4,596 crore cash and cash equivalents, and Rs 7,262 crore undrawn bank lines,” said the company, adding that gross debt during the quarter was Rs 1,11,549 crore, and net debt stood at Rs 1,06,952 crore.
The company said the consolidated steel production stood at 6.95 million tonne, while deliveries grew by 3 per cent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) to 6.53 million tonne. “Consolidated revenues were Rs 34,579 crore while India revenues stood at Rs 20,204 crore. Consolidated adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was Rs 4,018 crore and India’s adjusted EBITDA was Rs 3,817 crore.
Regarding the company’s European operations, the statement said: “In 2QFY20, Tata Steel Europe liquid steel production was impacted by weak market conditions, planned summer shutdowns and unplanned outages. Revenue from operations decreased to Rs 14,035 crore in 2QFY20 due to weaker steel prices, partially offset by marginally better sales volumes.”
T V Narendran, CEO and Managing Director, Tata Steel, said: “The business environment in India and other geographies continued to be challenging and weighed heavily on steel prices. Tata Steel worked closely with customers across business segments to drive sales and maintain volumes.”
“We are focused on driving productivity improvements across our various operations as well as the supply chain to reduce costs and minimise the impact on margins. We hope the end of monsoon season and the onset of festive demand leads to a pick-up in overall consumption and the steel demand,” he said.
Koushik Chatterjee, Executive Director and CFO, said: “Amidst a very challenging economic environment which saw steel prices drop by over $100 per tonne, Tata Steel reported consolidated revenue of Rs 34,579 crore and consolidated adjusted EBITDA of Rs 4,018 crore. Our India operations reported an adjusted EBITDA of Rs 3,817 crore, which is an EBIDTA margin of 18.9 per cent.”
“While our gross debt has increased during the quarter due to an increase in working capital, we have renewed our focus on cash flow maximisation through operational improvements, working capital reduction and rationalization of capex which will help us deleverage,” added Chatterjee.