Tata Steel declares financial results for FY'15 & Q4FY'15

• Earnings Per Share (EPS) in FY'15 increased marginally to INR 64.49 from INR 64.21 in FY'14. EPS in Q4FY'15 was INR 7.94 compared to INR 8.61 in Q3FY'15 and INR 19.93 in Q4FY'14.

European Operations
Volume output in Europe was stable, despite being constrained by demand and operational issues. Lower turnover was due to reduced sales prices. Operating profit improved nevertheless, with EBIT turning positive.

Further strong progress was made in the market differentiation strategy in Europe. Differentiated products sales represented more than a third of overall sales for the year as a whole. Sales of new products surged 16 per cent by volume and the company raised the total of new products in its portfolio to 113 by the end of FY15.

• Liquid steel production in FY'15 declined by 2.5 per cent to 15.16 million tonnes from 15.55 million tonnes in FY'14. Q4FY'15 production of 3.91 million tonnes was 4.5 per cent higher than the 3.74 million tonnes produced in Q3FY'15 and 3 per cent lower than the 4.04 million tonnes produced in Q4FY'14.

• Deliveries declined marginally to 13.67 million tonnes in FY'15 from the 13.86 million tonnes in FY'14. Q4FY'15 deliveries of 3.81 million tonnes were 15 per cent higher than the 3.31 million tonnes in Q3FY'15 and 6.5 per cent lower than the 4.07 million tonnes in Q4FY'14.

• Turnover in FY'15 was INR 79,878 crores versus INR 84,666 crores in the previous year. Q4FY'15 turnover was INR 19,537 crores compared to INR 19,399 crores in Q3FY'15 and INR 24,376 crores in Q4FY'14. The drop in turnover was driven by falling raw materials prices, which dampened realisations.

• FY'15 EBITDA rose by 42 per cent to INR 4,285 crores from INR 3,008 crores in FY'14, reflecting improved margins and better market positioning. Q4FY'15 EBITDA of INR 1,053 crores, though down from INR 1,308 crores in Q3FY'15, was 29 per cent higher than the INR 817 crores in Q4FY'14.

• FY'15 EBIT was a profit of INR 1,015 crores and a turnaround on the loss of INR 158 crores in the previous year. Q4FY'15 EBIT of INR 280 crores was also a turnaround on the loss of INR 16 crores in Q4FY'14, though down from INR 485 crores in Q3FY'15. Wider market spreads and the increase in premium product volumes again lay behind the improved figures.

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