BENGALURU (Reuters) – Indian steelmaker Tata Steel reported a loss for the second quarter on Wednesday, hurt by charges related to restructuring at its UK operations and lower sales and price realisations.
The company’s consolidated net loss came in at 65.11 billion Indian rupees ($782.24 million) for the three months ended Sept. 30, compared to a profit of 12.97 billion rupees a year ago.
Its total revenue from operations fell 7% to 556.82 billion rupees.
Tata Steel, which has an annual crude steel capacity of 35 million tonnes per annum, said it took a charge of 63.58 billion rupees on a consolidated basis in relation to the restructuring in the UK business.
In September, the company struck a 1.25 billion pound deal with the British government to decarbonise its Port Talbot site, which would likely impact 3,000 jobs.
Tata Steel said it has initiated informal discussions with trade union representatives explaining the impact of the restructuring proposal.
Trade union Unite said on Wednesday it has called on the U.K. government to “intervene immediately” on anticipated job cuts.
Tata Steel’s chief executive officer T V Narendran had warned in July that steel prices would ease in the July-September quarter in India and Europe.
Domestic peers JSW Steel and Jindal Steel and Power have reported a profit in the second quarter on lower costs and strong sales despite a fall in steel prices.
($1 = 83.2351 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Sethuraman NR in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
