January 20, 2004
3rd Quarter Profits Jump
Tata Sponge Iron Limited has recorded a 42.5% growth in its net sales at Rs.52 crore for the third quarter ended 31st December 2003, compared to Rs.36 crore in the same period for the previous year. The growth in sales has also reflected in the company’s PAT which has increased approx. seven times at Rs. 8.3 crore compared to Rs. 95 lakh during the corresponding period last year. The Earnings Per Share (EPS) has registered a net increase of seven times over the previous year.
With a good financial performance during the third quarter, there has been a remarkable improvement in all major indices during the first nine months of the current financial year. The company has accumulated a net profit of Rs.24 crore which is 138% higher than the previous year’s figure of Rs.10 crore. Similarly, the EPS has also grown by 138% at Rs.15.65 as compared to Rs.6.58 for the previous 9-month period. Company sources inform that this has been possible primarily due to a higher production level during the third quarter and control over cost, thanks primarily to self sufficiency attained by the company in power utilization, which has helped it in compensating for the increase in the prices of iron ore & coal.
Besides the superior operational & financial results of the 3rd quarter, Tata Sponge’s fine performance also includes the winning of the IIM National Quality Award (first prize) & the Greentech Environmental Excellence National Award (Gold category), besides being enlisted by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India in the top 25 companies out of 4,785 companies in India for practicing best corporate governance.