The Hindu Business Line : Usha Martin H1 net profit at Rs 58.2 cr

Specialty steel and wire rope manufacturer Usha Martin Ltd has posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 58.20 crore during the six months ended September 30.

Consolidated sales, net of excise duty, during the period April-September 2006 was Rs 985.06 crore. Since this is the first time the company has released its consolidated financial results for the quarter and half-year ended September 30, 2006, the corresponding figures for last fiscal are not available.

Addressing a news conference here today, Mr Rajeev Jhawar, Managing Director of Usha Martin Ltd, said the company had planned to invest Rs 1,300 crore within the next 3-4 years. The company's specialty steel manufacturing capacity would be augmented from 3.2 lakh tonnes per annum (t.p.a.) at present to one million tonnes within the next 3-4 years. Of the proposed one million tonnes of specialty steel that would be produced, six lakh tonnes would be sold to automobile and engineering companies while the balance would be value-added internally and converted to wire rope and wires.

Mr Jhawar said, of the Rs 1,300 crore proposed to be invested, Rs 200 crore had already been raised by way of a GDR issue and warrants to the promoters. A sum of around Rs 600 crore would be raised through internal accruals. While the balance Rs 500 crore would comprise the debt component.

According to him, the plan to ramp up capacities follows the fructification of mineral linkages. Iron ore mines of the company are already operational.

Mr Jhawar reiterated the company's desire of becoming the world's largest wire rope manufacturing company soon. The lately-acquired, Houston-based wire rope manufacturing plant is slated to commence production in January 2007.