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 2014-15.
In the second quarter, Tata Steel Group's net profit amounted to INR 12.5 billion ($203.1 million), up 36.7 percent compared to the same quarter of the previous financial year, supported by the one-time gain of INR 11.5 billion ($186.9 million) from a land sale in Borivali, Mumbai. The group's second quarter sales revenues decreased by 2.4 percent year on year to INR 357.7 billion ($5.8 billion).
During the second quarter, steel deliveries of the group amounted to 6.5 million mt, almost remaining unchanged compared to the same quarter of the previous financial year, with deliveries from the European operations falling 2.9 percent to 3.36 million mt and deliveries from the Indian operations up 3.4 percent to 2.11 million mt, both year on year.
According to Tata Steel Group's statement, the potential sale of the Long Products Europe business and its associated distribution facilities will enable the company to devote greater resources to pursuing focus on strip steel customers. The company sees headwinds constraining steel demand growth globally. In Europe Tata Steel Group is increasingly concerned about the impact of rising imports, particularly from China, on EU steelmakers.
Regarding its mining operations in India, the company stated that the Jharkhand government agreed to renew the mining leases of Tata Steel. Now the company is waiting for a response from the High Court of Jharkhand.