Earnings: NMDC Q3 net rises 1.5% as low sales hit profitability

New Delhi: Hit by lower sales, state-run iron ore miner NMDC reported a marginal 1.6 percent increase in net profit for the October-December quarter at Rs 1,593 crore. [caption id=“attachment_84260” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Image courtesy NMDC[/caption] NMDC, the largest miner of the steel-making raw material in the country, had clocked Rs 1,567 crore net profit in same quarter last fiscal, it said in a filing to the BSE. “A host of issues caused evacuation problems for NMDC in the October-December quarter. Railway tracks were damaged by the extremists a couple of times during the quarter. Cyclone Hudhud also caused some damage,” said a company source. “All these hampered the evacuation problem resulting in lower sales during the quarter. However, our production was higher,” the official added. Physical sales were down by five percent to 6.97 million tonnes during the quarter, but better price ensured net income from operations not falling compared to the same quarter last year. Total income of the company grew to Rs 2,946 crore during the quarter from Rs 2,823 crore a year earlier. Production of the company was also higher at 8.1 million tonnes. Total expenses also went up to Rs 1,052 crore from Rs 957 crore a year earlier primarily due to higher royalty payment. NMDC paid Rs 460 crore royalty during the quarter against Rs 226 crore a year earlier. The company board, at its meeting today, has recommended a second interim dividend of Rs 4.25 per share of Re 1 each. With the second interim dividend, total interim dividend declared by the company so far in the current fiscal stands at Rs 7.25 per equity share, NMDC said. PTI