India’s Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) has reported a 45 percent drop in stand-alone net profit at INR 970 million ($13.64 million) during the third quarter (October-December 2019) of the fiscal year 2019-20, compared to INR 1.770 billion ($24.89 million) in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal year, according to regulatory filings by the steel company. Nevertheless, the producer managed to increase its net profit by 6.5 times compared to the previous quarter owing to “unprecedented” production and sales volumes and the local demand improvement seen as of November.
JSPL has posted double-digit growth in sales volumes at its major business. Steel and related products sales in India totaled 1.67 million mt in the given quarter, up 31 percent year on year.
Pellet production of the group was 1.79 million mt, out of which 0.65 million mt were for external sales, 13 percent above the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal year.
Jindal Shadeed, subsidiary of JSPL in Oman, reported 0.50 million mt of crude steel production for the quarter in question, 10 percent higher year on year.
JSPL is going to keep increasing steel production and sales in India in the current quarter as “economic growth in India is slated to pick up post 3QFY20 with industrial output turning around in November and expected to rise further in the coming months,” according to the company’s report.