Jindal Stainless net profit falls 5 pc to Rs 654.27 cr in December quarter

     New Delhi, Jan 29 (PTI) Jindal Stainless Ltd (JSL) on Wednesday posted an over 5 per cent fall in its consolidated net profit at Rs 654.27 crore during the December quarter, impacted by lower stainless steel prices.
     Its net profit was at Rs 691.22 crore during the October-December period of the preceding 2023-24 fiscal, the company said in a regulatory filing.
     Continuously declining stainless steel prices in global markets coupled with cheap imports pressured margins in both domestic and export markets thereby affecting profitability during the quarter, JSL said.
     The company's total income was, however, higher at Rs 10,006.41 crore in the latest third quarter as against Rs 9,166.42 crore in the year-ago quarter.
     Expenses increased to Rs 9,101.90 crore during the period under review, from Rs 8,262.66 crore a year ago.
     The company said its board has approved an interim dividend of Re 1 per equity share (face value of Rs 2 per equity share) for the financial year 2024-25.
     The dividend has been approved for shareholders listed in the records of the depositories "as on Saturday, February 8, 2025, the record date fixed for the purpose", the company said.
     The payment of interim dividend will be completed on or before February 27, it said.
     JSL further said that despite continued pressure of subsidised imports in the domestic market, and a depressed export market, the company managed to grow its sales volume from 5,12,015 tonnes in Q3FY24 to 5,87,658 tonnes in Q3FY25, registering a year-on-year growth of 15 per cent.
     Domestic sales increased by 20 per cent from 4,48,361 tonnes in Q3FY24 to 5,37,747 tonnes in Q3FY25, while exports fell by 22 per cent in the same period.
     JSL MD Abhyuday Jindal said the Indian steel and stainless steel industry have been witnessing the adverse effects of subsidised dumping of inferior quality products by countries having surplus capacities.
     With India still being the fastest growing major economy globally, the domestic industry needs immediate government measures to stop dumping of surplus quantities into India, and circumvention of quality norms through several FTA (free trade agreement) countries, he said.
     Duing the quarter, JSL's strategic arm Jindal Defence and Aerospace (JDA) has secured a repeat order for the supply of low alloy steel sheets from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Aerospace Division for motor casings of PSLV.
     Meanwhile, the company granted 12,42,736 stock options on a discounted price through Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) and Restricted Stock Unit (RSUs) in an equal mix under the Jindal Stainless Limited Employee Stock Option Scheme 2023.
     JSL is India's leading stainless-steel manufacturer. It has 16 manufacturing and processing facilities in India and abroad, including in Spain and Indonesia.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)