BENGALURU (Reuters) – Indian stainless-steel maker Jindal Stainless reported a second-quarter profit that more than halved, hit by import dumping from China and a tax on exports.
The New Delhi-based company’s consolidated profit came in at 1.59 billion Indian rupees ($19.22 million) for the three months ended Sept. 30, against 4.07 billion rupees, a year ago.
India’s stainless steel industry has been facing tough competition from Chinese and Indonesian manufacturers who have been dumping in the domestic market. Adding to the woes, the Indian government in May raised export tax for certain steel and stainless steel products.
Jindal’s revenue from operations rose 11.5% to 56.05 billion rupees. Consolidated operating margins fell to 6.39% for the reported quarter from 15.08% a year ago.
While input costs fell 3% as raw material prices cooled off from their peak, power and fuel costs surged about 35%.
($1 = 82.73 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Nallur Sethuraman in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
