India-headquartered steel giant Tata Steel Group has issued its group financial results including Tata Steel Europe for the first quarter ended June 30 of the financial year 2013-14.
Tata Steel Group recorded a net profit of INR 11.4 billion ($185.8 million) in the first quarter, almost double compared to the net profit of INR 5.98 billion in the corresponding period of the previous financial year, thanks to the robust performance by the Indian operations and the improved performance at the European operations. The group's sales amounted to INR 325.5 billion ($5.3 billion), declining three percent year on year.
During the given quarter, steel deliveries of the group amounted to 6.08 million mt, increasing by 7.04 percent year on year. The European operations maintained the improvement in performance on the back of upgrades at key production facilities at Port Talbot and IJmuiden in the fourth quarter. Deliveries from the European operations totaled 3.14 million mt in the first quarter, slightly lower than the 3.21 million mt in the same quarter of the previous year, largely due to soft market demand.
Tata Steel also said that the Indian operations recorded a robust performance despite softer markets, weakening economic conditions and a seasonally weak quarter. Best-ever production was achieved for pig iron and from the thin slab casting and tolling plant. Deliveries from the India operations amounted to 2 million mt in the given quarter, increasing 25.8 percent year on year primarily due to the ramp-up of capacity at Jamshedpur.
According to Tata Steel, work on the greenfield project in the Indian state of Odisha continues in full swing. Meanwhile, there have recently been encouraging signs of improving economic conditions in some European economies, the UK in particular, and the company is ready to capitalize if these signs translate more strongly into increased demand from steel-intensive industries.