JSW Steel denies charges of understating debt

NEW DELHI: JSW Steel today denied charges of understating its debt by Rs 11,900 crore saying that classification of its assets and liabilities are in compliance with Indian accounting regulations and have been audited by a reputed chartered accountant's firm.

"The classification of assets and liabilities in financial statements is not only in compliance with Indian Accounting Regulations but also consistent with the practice being followed by the company for past several years," JSW Steel Joint Managing Director and Group CFO Seshagiri Rao said in a statement.

The statement was issued following brokerage firm Credit Suisse Group AG reportedly saying that the steel major understated its debt by Rs 11,900 crore in the last financial year.

"The company strongly objects to these misleading statements. These financial statements have been audited by a reputed firm of Chartered Accountants," Rao said.

JSW prepares its financial statements as per Indian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (Indian GAAP), he added.

Deloitte Haskins & Sells has audited the statements of the company and the steel major had a net debt of Rs 16,643.78 crore as on March, 2012, its annual annual report for 2011-12 showed.

Shares of the company fell 1 per cent to close at Rs 715 apiece on the BSE today.