Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Usha Martin net falls to Rs.14.65 crore

Kolkata, Oct 28 (IANS) Speciality steel and wire rope manufacturer Usha Martin posted a net profit of Rs.14.65 crore in the second quarter this financial year, down from the Rs.41.85 crore it earned in the corresponding period last fiscal.
“The slow and uncertain process of global economic recovery and volatility in raw material prices continue to affect product volumes and margins,” said company managing director Rajeev Jhawar here Wednesday.

“Standalone sales realisations were down 26 percent,” Jhawar told reporters.

The company’s operating profit margin dropped to 17 percent compared to 22 percent logged in the corresponding period last fiscal.

According to Jhawar, the sharp drop in steel prices over the past year affected the company’s results.

Steel, which cost about Rs.47,000 a tonne in the second quarter last fiscal, is now ruling at Rs.29,000 per tonne, a drop of about 30 percent.

Jhawar said that taking the commissioning of additional capacity into consideration, the company expected to touch Rs.900-950 crore revenue by fourth quarter this year.

Demand was also picking up, he said, maintaining that the auto sector was doing well.

No comments:

Post a Comment