Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) on Wednesday reported a manifold jump in its consolidated profit after tax (PAT) to Rs 1,900.51 crore during the fourth quarter ended March 2021, mainly on account of higher income. Its "net profit after tax from continuing operation" in the year-ago quarter was at Rs 82.13 crore, JSPL said in a BSE filing.

Detailing the numbers, VR Sharma, MD of the company said that they are targeting to reduce debt substantially in FY22.

“We were at a debt level of about Rs 45,000 crore in the year 2016-17 which has been gradually brought down. Today our level is Rs 19,300 crore. By the end of this financial year, we should be below Rs 10,000 crore,” he said in a interview to CNBC-TV18.

Sharma said that the company is targeting to sell more than 8 million tonne of steel in FY22.and is also looking at increasing steel capacity by 6 million tonne.

“FY21 we did a production of 7.5 million tonne and sale was close to 7.3 million tonne. FY22 we are looking to produce more than 8 million tonne and so is the sale number,” he said.

He also said that steel prices have trended higher in Q1FY22 versus Q4FY21. However, Indian steel prices are at a USD 250/tonne discount to various international prices.

“All of the raw material and input costs have increased significantly. There is an increase of USD 200/tonne on the input cost for making steel and this has led to the overall price rise in international markets. However, in India, the prices are lower. The prices are ranging from USD 780-800/tonne and the net difference is about Rs USD200-250/tonne,” he said.

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(Edited by : Abhishek Jha)