SAIL Q1 net down 18% to Rs 696 crore on higher input costs

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Steel major SAIL on Monday reported 18 per cent dip in net profit at Rs 696 crore for the first quarter ended June, 2012 on account of higher input costs and weak rupee.

The state-owned firm had posted net profit of Rs 848 crore in the April-June quarter of the 2011-12 fiscal.

The decline in the profit was "mainly due to higher input costs and foreign exchange fluctuations, which saw the rupee weakening by a steep 21 per cent in Q1 FY'13 compared to corresponding period last year (CPLY)," the company said in a statement.

SAIL's Q1 gross sales were at Rs 11,912 crore, almost at the same level of Rs 11,907 crore in the year-ago period.

The company consumed raw material worth Rs 5,642 crore during the reporting quarter, as compared to Rs 5,234 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.

Power and fuel consumption in Q1 accounted for Rs 1,224 crore as compared to 1,107 crore.

However, SAIL said impact of higher input costs were partially neutralised by higher net sales realisations in Q1 FY'13 , which grew by 8.5 per cent compared to the CPLY.

"This was helped by internal measures taken by the company which yielded a richer product mix in Q1 of FY'13 with production of value-added steel growing by 8 per cent over the CPLY."