India-headquartered steel giant Tata Steel Group has issued its group financial results including Tata Steel Europe for the second quarter and the first half ended September 30 of the financial year 2013-14.
Tata Steel Group recorded a net profit of INR 9.2 billion ($145.5 million) in the second quarter, compared to a net loss of INR 3.64 billion in the corresponding period of the previous financial year. The group's sales amounted to INR 366.45 billion ($5.8 billion), rising 7.36 percent year on year.
During the first half, Tata Steel's net profit amounted to INR 20.5 billion ($324.2 million), compared to a net profit of INR 2.34 billion in the first half of the previous year, driven by the steady ramp-up of the Indian operations and improved performance at the European and Southeast Asian operations. The company's sales revenues increased by two percent year on year to INR 694.5 billion ($11 billion).
In the first six months of the current financial year, steel deliveries of the group amounted to 12.6 million mt, increasing by seven percent year on year, with deliveries from the European operations registering a slight decline of 0.4 and deliveries from the Indian operations rising 22 percent, compared to the corresponding period of the previous financial year.
According to Tata Steel, overall market conditions weakened during the last quarter, exacerbated by heavy monsoons and the credit slowdown affecting the company's customers. The improvement in the European operations' production continued into the second quarter as the operations stabilized following the restart of the Port Talbot blast furnace. This fed through to a stronger financial performance in the first half, despite margins being squeezed in the September quarter.