Major Indian steelmaker JSW Steel (JSW) has announced its financial and operational results for the first half ended September 30 of the financial year 2015-16, posting a net profit of INR 2.71 billion ($41.71 million), compared to a net profit of INR 15.6 billion in the corresponding period of the previous financial year. In the given period, JSW's sales revenues decreased by 15.57 percent to INR 196.34 billion ($3.02 billion), compared to the first half of the previous year.
During the first half of the current financial year, JSW Steel produced 6.65 million mt of crude steel, up four percent year on year, while achieving finished steel sales of 6.29 million mt, rising by six percent year on year.
According to JSW Steel, the Indian steel industry continues to suffer from uncontrollable imports at prices significantly lower than domestic prices in exporting countries, especially from South Korea, Japan and China. Therefore, consumption of domestic steel was down by 2.3 percent year on year in the first half of the financial year 2015-16 as total steel imports were up by 42 percent year on year. The company said that the domestic iron ore prices are undergoing corrections on the back of improving supply with the restart of mining capacities.