Tata Steel Q4 Results: Profit Meets Estimates; Announces Dividend, Stock Split
The steelmaker’s consolidated net profit rose 2.5% over the preceding quarter to Rs 9,835 crore in Q4.
Tata Steel Ltd.’s fourth-quarter profit rose even as the margin contracted in line with analyst expectations.
The steelmaker’s consolidated net profit increased 2.5% over the preceding quarter to Rs 9,835 crore in the three months ended March, according to an exchange filing. That compares with the Rs 9,462-crore consensus estimate of analysts tracked by Bloomberg.
The bottom line was aided by higher other income even as cost inflation weighed on its margin.
Key Highlights (QoQ)
Revenue rose 14.1% to Rs 69,324 crore. Analysts had estimated Rs 66,195.5 crore. The top line was stable due to higher volumes, aided by improvement in sales volume across segments.
Operating profit declined 4.3% to Rs 15,174 crore against the estimated Rs 15774.3 crore due to a surge in international coal prices and inflationary impact of various commodities.
Margin moderated to 21.9% versus 26.1%. The estimate was 23.8%.
Other Highlights
Reported Ebitda per tonne stood at Rs 18,937 versus Rs 22,610 in the previous quarter, down 16.2%
Deliveries stood at 8.01 million tonnes versus 7.01 MT, up 14.3%.
Gross debt stood at Rs.75,561 crore with net repayments of Rs 15,232 crore.
"Our Indian business showed broad-based growth across chosen segments due to our sustained focus on customer relationships, our distribution network and our portfolio of brands supported by our agile business model," TV Narendran, chief executive officer and managing director at Tata Steel, said in the statement.
European operations delivered "robust performance" as the transformation programme helped to leverage the strong business environment, he said. "We have pursued several initiatives to de-risk the business particularly across procurement and supply chain and continue to invest in technology and digitisation to drive productivity and improve our resilience."
Kalinganagar expansion is progressing well and will drive cost savings as well as product mix enrichment, Narendran said. The acquisition of Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd. will be closed in the ongoing quarter and "we will scale it up rapidly to drive expansion".
Dividend, Stock Split
The company's board also recommended:
A dividend of Rs 51 per fully paid equity share—its largest payout since 2001.
A dividend of Rs 12.75 per partly paid equity share.
A 10:1 stock split.