Tata Steel on February 4 reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 9,598 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2021 (Q3FY22), a 139% increase from Rs 4,011 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

The company had reported a net profit of Rs 12,548 crore in the September quarter.

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Consolidated revenues for the Q3FY22 jumped about 45% year-on-year to Rs 60,783 crore as against Rs 41,935 crore in the year-ago period.

Consolidated free cash flow was Rs 6,338 crore during the quarter despite a surge in working capital of Rs 2,045 crore.

The steelmaker reported consolidated EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) at Rs 15,853 crore during the Q3FY22.

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The Tata group company said that it spent Rs 2,790 crore on capital expenditure (Capex) during the quarter.

Gross debt for the period dropped to Rs 71,703 crore, with repayments of Rs 17,376 crore in the first nine months of the year. Net debt fell to Rs 62,869 crore, with net debt to EBITDA improving to below 1.

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In the India operations, crude steel productions surged by 2% quarter-on-quarter and 4% year-on-year increase to Rs 4.81 million tons. Meanwhile, domestic deliveries surged by 2% sequentially.

Despite a 9% drop in auto OEM production due to a shortage of semiconductors, sales volume to the automotive segment remained steady quarter-on-quarter.

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In the European business, quarter-on-quarter revenues increased by 7% and year-on-year 56% to £2,246 million in the third quarter. EBITDA was £290 million which means an EBITDA per ton of £134.

TV Narendran, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director said “India steel demand has begun to improve on the back of continued economic recovery as the third wave of Covid begins to ebb. Our steel deliveries in India expanded by 4% in the first nine months of the financial year along with an improvement in product mix”.

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Koushik Chatterjee, Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer said Tata Steel’s performance was strong with EBITDA growing 64% and profit after tax (PAT) at 139%.

Despite a significant rise in international coal prices and increased working capital requirements, the company reported strong cash flows in the quarter, he said.

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Chatterjee added, “Despite market volatility, the revenues were broadly stable at Rs 60,783 crores while EBIDTA was Rs 15,853 crores which work out to a margin of 26% with Tata Steel Standalone EBIDTA margin at 38%”. Neelachal Ispat Nigam’s acquisitions will be financed through a combination of internal accruals and bridge funding.

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On Friday, ahead of the results, the company shares closed trading 0.67% higher at Rs 1,174 per share on NSE.