Tata Steel Q3 Results: Reports Loss On Higher Taxes, Material Costs

Tata Steel Ltd. reported a net loss in consolidated terms for the quarter ended December, on account of higher material costs and a deferred tax expense during the period.

The Indian steel behemoth registered a net loss of Rs 2,223.84 crore during the third quarter, compared to a profit of Rs 9,572.67 crore over the corresponding period a year ago, according to its exchange filing. Analysts tracked by Bloomberg had estimated a net profit of Rs 1,699.05 crore.

The sharp decline in the bottom line came as the company faced a deferred tax outgo of Rs 2,149.97 crore for the three months to December.

Material costs for the quarter rose to Rs 24,695.38 crore, compared to Rs 20,546.54 crore a year ago.

Tata Steel Q3 FY23 Highlights (Consolidated, YoY)

• Revenue declined 5.73% to Rs 57,354.16 crore, against an estimate of Rs 56,689.9 crore.

• Ebitda fell 72.93% to Rs 4,318.44 crore, compared to the forecast of Rs 5,958.78 crore.

• Ebitda margin at 7.53% vs 26,22%. Analysts had estimated a margin of 10.5%.

The company registered broad-based growth across most segments, according to TV Narendran, managing director and chief executive officer at Tata Steel.

"Our crude steel production touched 5 million tonnes in Q3 FY23 for the first time in India, with Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd. commencing operations. We are presently expanding our capacities across multiple sites at Tata Steel Kalinganagar, Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd. and the Electric Arc Furnace at Ludhiana in Punjab and at our downstream plants across India," said Narendran.

"Moving to Europe, our deliveries were lower in 9M FY23 due to slowdown in demand. Recession concerns weighed on steel prices, which coupled with elevated energy costs affected our performance. Looking ahead, there is visible pick up in steel prices across key regions on improved China demand outlook and sustained spending on infrastructure in India," he said.

Despite global headwinds to steel prices, Tata Steel recorded growth in its top line as well as Ebitda in the first nine months of the fiscal, said CFO Koushik Chatterjee.

"Our net debt has remained broadly stable on a QoQ basis at Rs 71,706 crore and our liquidity position remains strong. We made further progress on derisking the British Steel Pension Scheme by expanding our insurance coverage on liabilities from 30% to 60%. Depending on market conditions, the residual insurance of 40% of liabilities will be completed in the first half of the calendar year 2023, and there will be a commensurate non-cash deferred tax expense," the CFO said.