Visa Steel posts dip in net profit to Rs 10.06 crore

KOLKATA: Visa Steel has posted a dip in net profit to Rs 10.06 crore in the quarter ended June 30, 2009, compared to a net profit of Rs 48.51 crore in the previous corresponding period. The company's net sales from operations, however, remained steady at Rs 254.09 crore in the quarter ended June 30, 2009 against Rs 255.72 crore in the same period last year.

The company's profit before tax also dropped sharply to Rs 11.54 crore in Q1 of 2009-10 from Rs 61.95 crore during Q1 of 2008-09. The company announced its unaudited financial results for the first quarter of 2009-10 at a board meeting held in New Delhi on Tuesday.

���Our revenues during Q1 of 2009-10 have been stable despite a sharp fall in sales realisation due to better production volumes in our operating plants. We have also focused on reducing our raw material costs especially coking coal, iron ore, and chrome ore. Power costs have fallen significantly due to commissioning of a 50 MW unit,��� Vishal Agarwal, managing director, of Visa Steel said.

In terms of production, Visa Steel reported a 24% increase in ferro chrome production in Q1 this year to
9,805 tonne compared to 7,921 tonne during the corresponding period. Coke production increased by 10% to 90,583 tonne in April-June 2009 compared to 82,386 tonne during the corresponding period in the previous year.

During the year, the company commissioned its 1.5 lakh tonne per annum direct reduced iron (DRI) plant located at Kalinganagar Industrial Complex, Orissa. Subsequent to the quarter ended, the company's shareholding in Visa Bao Limited stands reduced to 48.15% due to fresh allotment of over 1.59 crore of Rs 10 each of Visa Bao Limited to Baosteel Resources Co. Ltd.