Major Indian steelmaker JSW Steel (JSW) has announced its standalone financial and operational results for the third quarter and the first nine months ended on December 31, 2020.
In the third quarter, JSW Steel reported a net profit of INR 28.29 billion ($387.85 million), increasing by 309.4 percent year on year and rising by 67 percent quarter on quarter. In the same period, JSW’s net sales stood at INR 192.39 billion ($2.64 billion) amid the improvement in domestic sales and higher value-added steel volumes. The company recorded a best quarterly operating EBITDA of INR 56.33 billion ($772.19 million) with a strong margin of 29.3 percent.
For the first nine months ended on December 31, JSW Steel has posted a net profit of INR 43.75 billion ($599.74 million), down by 13 percent year on year, while its net sales decreased by 5.43 percent year on year to INR 463.29 billion ($6.35 billion).
The company produced 4.08 million mt of crude steel in the third quarter amid strong demand, while the crude steel production volume for the first nine months totaled 10.89 million mt.
During the third quarter, JSW’s total steel sales amounted to 3.90 million mt, down three percent, including 2.92 million mt of flat steel sales, down two percent, and 910,000 mt of long steel sales, up four percent, all year on year. In the first nine months, the company’s total steel sales decreased by five percent year on year to 10.82 million mt, including 8.03 million mt of flat steel sales, down two percent, and 2.14 million mt of long steel sales, down 19 percent, all compared to the same period of the previous year.
JSW stated that the increase in profit was due to the fact that the domestic steel industry witnessed a sharp demand recovery driven by restocking and higher demand from the automotive, machinery, construction and infrastructure sectors aided by increased government spending. The company is scheduled to commission its Dolvi plant expansion project and Vijaynagar plant capacity expansion project during the fourth quarter.
JSW Steel foresees that the Indian steel industry is expected to sustain its recovery with the commencement of vaccinations and declining cases.