Tata Steel was back into the black with consolidated net profit of Rs 7,162 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 against net loss of Rs 1,615 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.  

The company’s consolidated revenues increased by 39 per cent on a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) basis to Rs 49,977 crore, which was much above analysts’ estimates of Rs 46,105 crore. The consolidated EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation), which was the highest ever, increased two-fold Y-o-Y to Rs 14,290 crore. Consequently the company’s EBITDA margins came in at 28.6 per cent, up a steep 1,520 basis points. The company’s EBITDA per tonne on a consolidated basis increased to Rs 18,253 as against Rs 6,838 in January-March 2020. 

For FY21, consolidated top line was at Rs 1,56,294 crore (up 4.9 per cent), EBITDA at Rs 30,892 crore (up 71 per cent) and net profit at Rs 7,490 crore (up 381 per cent). 

On a consolidated basis, the company reported an increase of 11 per cent in steel deliveries on a Y-o-Y basis. The company’s Indian steel deliveries grew by 16 per cent Y-o-Y to 4.67 million tonnes in 4Q of FY21. The company also achieved highest-ever quarterly crude steel production in India of 4.75 million tonnes during the quarter. 

Commenting on the outlook on demand and any impact on production, given the ban on use of oxygen for industrial purposes, Tata Steel MD and CEO TV Narendran said that there was an impact being seen on small and medium enterprises and fabrication sector, which were primary users of the gas. “There could be an impact on the fabrication business; there could be an impact on other areas, like welding and cutting. We are also seeing some signs of activity slowing down in the construction sector, but that is largely got to do with the migrant workers’ problem and activity slowing in fabrication units,” he said.