May 15 (Reuters) - Tata Steel, India's second-largest maker of steel by market capitalisation, posted a smaller-than-expected fourth quarter profit on ?Friday, hurt by increased raw materials costs and one-off charge related to restructuring at its Netherlands unit.
- Consolidated net profit more-than-doubled to 29.26 billion rupees ($304.9 million) for the quarter ended March 31, but missed the ?average analysts estimate of 30.8 billion rupees, per data compiled by LSEG.
- Prices of coking coal, a key raw material for steelmakers, increased for a second straight quarter amid ongoing gas shortages linked to the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, which lifted coal consumption.
- The steelmaker's cost of materials consumed rose 16.7%, and total expenses climbed 8% to 585.02 billion rupees.
- The firm incurred a net one-time charge of 3.4 billion rupees in the reported quarter, which included a 5.95 billion-rupee charge tied to its restructuring and redundancy provisions for its Netherlands unit.
- Indian steel producers saw a recovery in domestic steel prices during the January–March quarter, aided by safeguard duties and improved demand, following two straight quarters of sequential price ?declines, analysts said.
- Tata Steel's domestic steel production rose more than 14% on-year to 6.22 million ?tonnes, while deliveries rose 10.5% to 6.19 ?million tonnes in the fourth quarter.
- The firm's consolidated total revenue from operations rose by 12.5% to 632.70 billion rupees, beating analysts' expectation of 624.21 billion rupees.
- The firm approved ?a dividend of four rupees per share for fiscal 2026.
