Tata Steel's Q3 net falls 15%

Tata Steel's quarterly profit fell 15 per cent, below analysts forecast as weaker prices failed to offset higher volumes.

Tata Steel Ltd, India's largest private-sector steel maker, said on Monday quarterly profit fell 15 per cent, below analysts forecast as weaker prices failed to offset higher volumes.

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Tata Steel, part of the country's second-largest private conglomerate, Tata, said net profit fell to Rs 7.54 billion ($171 million) in the fiscal third quarter to December 31 from 8.91 billion a year earlier.

The median estimate in a Reuters poll of 10 brokerages was for a 7 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 9.55 billion.

Net sales in the quarter were Rs 36.81 billion, down 1.4 per cent from a year ago, and below analysts forecast of 37.59 billion.

Shares in Tata Steel fell 10.2 per cent in the December quarter, underperforming a 9 per cent rise in the main BSE index.