Essar Steel net up 51.70 pc at Rs 154.34cr

Mumbai, Oct 31 (UNI) Essar Steel has registered a 51.70 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 154.34 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2006 compared to Rs 101.74 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

The company recorded a 30.97 per cent rise in total income at Rs 2081.58 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2006 as against Rs 1589.30 crore in the same period last year, a company release said.

The release said the company's capacity expansion programme from three million tonnes to 4.6 million tonnes per annum is progressing rapidly. As part of this activity, the company had to plan a major shut down for up-gradation of its steel mill and allied facilities, the release said, adding that this, coupled with the unprecedented floods in Surat, had impacted the production of steel at Hazira. In spite of this, the steel output increased by 18 per cent to 6.86 lakh tonnes (5.81 lakh tonnes) for the quarter ended September 30, 2006, the release added.

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