Indus Valley Times

By A K SAHOO
Bhubaneswar, May 22: The net profit of the Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys (IMFA), the Odisha based India’s leading ferro chorme producer, in the Q4 18 has dipped to Rs 4.90 crore for the quarter ended on March 31, 2018 versus 74.74 crore in the year-ago quarter, IMFA said in a statement.
The exports of the company also witnessed a sharp fall, – it dropped to Rs 378.45 crore in Q4 18 versus Rs 406.64 crore during the corresponding period in the previous fiscal.
Similarly, the turnover the company saw nose-diving to Rs 443.27 crore in comparison to the corresponding quarter in the FY 17.
The other highlights of the company’s performance include a revenue earning of Rs 443.27 crore against 483.65 crore during the corresponding period in FY 17.
However, the company has registered a growth in ferro chrome sales in the Q4 18. It has recorded a sales of 64,252 tonnes versus 56,578 tonnes in Q4 18.
Ferro chrome production jumped to 61,038 crore in Q4 18 from 59,391 tonnes in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal.
Subhrakant Panda, the MD and CEO of IMFA, said: “ The ferro chrome market has been extremely volatile and Q4 results are a direct reflection of lower prices despite higher production and sales. In this context, the ongoing Q1 FY19 quarter numbers will reflect the positive impact of higher benchmark price finalisation coupled with INR depreciation and a stable Rand. Looking ahead, price realisation during FY19 on average is expected to yield good margins though quarter on quarter volatility may persist.”
Mr Jayant Misra, Director (Corporate) & COO added: “Our Therubali unit faced an 18 day agitation by outsiders without any prior notice. While the situation has now normalised, during the restart of operations there was a shell puncture of TCP-3 furnace due to the sudden, unplanned shutdown. The loss of production is estimated at 12,000 tonnes and we have initiated the process of registering a claim under the insurance cover availed by the company.”