Pension fund pilferage: 4 Durgapur steel staffs arrested
An accounts department employee of SAIL's Durgapur Steel Plant was arrested today on charges of multi-crore pilferage of pension funds meant for the plant employees.
Steel Authority of India (SAIL), a central public sector undertaking, has reported a nearly 3 per cent fall in profit for the fourth-quarter at Rs 1,125.7 crore amid softer steel prices and higher costs.
The weaker domestic steel prices are also arising from increased competition from China. SAIL’s consolidated revenue from operations stood at Rs 27,958.52 crore, down 4 per cent from the previous year.
On a standalone basis, the state-owned steel maker’s net profit was Rs 1,011.2 crore down from Rs 1,049.02 crore reported in the same quarter last year.
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Earnings of steelmakers in India have been strained by a surge in imports of low-cost finished steel products from China, which is dealing with a struggling property sector and elevated US tariffs.
Commenting on the results, Chairman Amarendu Prakash said: “The Indian Steel Markets have remained quite robust showcasing continual growth in demand. SAIL has been taking various initiatives towards increasing volumes, adding value-added products to its product basket and improving efficiency levels which is reflected in the improved physical performance year on year.”
The board has recommended the Final Dividend Rs l/ per share for the year FY23-24, in addition to the interim dividend declared in February, the company said.
For the overall FY24, the net profit saw a 40 per cent jump to Rs 3,067 crore. The net profit in the year-ago period was Rs 2,177 crore.
Full-year revenue from ops was Rs 1,05,378 crore, up one percent, y-o-y as compared to Rs 1,04,448 crore in FY23.
During FY24, the steel maker’s crude steel production and sales volume saw a y-o-y growth of 5.2 per cent, and 5.1 per cent respectively.
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