Jindal Stainless Steel plummets 8% after Q4 net profit slides 30% YoY

Jindal Stainless Steel Ltd released its earnings report for the quarter and full financial year ended March 24 on Wednesday, May 15.

Jindal Stainless Steel shares dropped as much as 8.47% to a low of ₹625 apiece on the NSE, a day after the release of Q4 results. However, the stock recovered some of its losses to close 0.45% lower at ₹679 apiece on the NSE.

Jindal Stainless Limited reported a 30% year-on-year (YoY) decline in consolidated net profit for the January-March period at ₹501 crore compared to ₹716 crore in Q4FY23. The company’s revenue also decreased 3% YoY to ₹9,454 crore in Q4FY24 against ₹9,765 crore in Q4FY23. EBITDA for the March 2024 quarter stood at ₹1,035, reflecting a 10% YoY decrease.

Jindal Stainless Limited said in the filing that its margins faced continued pressure primarily due to negative inventory valuation resulting from the persistent decline in nickel prices. Additionally, key export destinations like Europe and the United States exhibited weakness. The Red Sea crisis also worsened the situation during the quarter, causing a significant rise in ocean freight costs and limited container availability, further squeezing margins.

For the full fiscal year ending March 2024, the consolidated revenue reached ₹38,562 crore, marking an 8% increase compared to the fiscal year ended March 2023. EBITDA stood at ₹4,704 crore, reflecting a 31% YoY growth. The profit after tax in FY24 reached ₹2,693 crore, an increase of 29% YoY.

The company’s board also proposed a final dividend of ₹2 for FY24, pending shareholder approval. This recommendation brings the total dividend per equity share to ₹3, or 150% of the face value of ₹2 each.