Tata Steel shares fell as much as 6 per cent to an intraday low of Rs 346.20 on Monday after the steel major reported a 69 per cent drop in its December quarter profits.
Tata Steel's consolidated net profit fell to Rs 157 crore in the three months through December 31, the lowest since the second quarter of 2013, from Rs 503 crore a year earlier.
Its revenues declined 8 per cent to Rs 33,633 crore in the October-December quarter of 2014.
Analysts polled by NDTV had estimated Tata Steel to report a net profit of Rs 162 crore on revenues of Rs 34,839 crore.
The domestic business of Tata Steel remained weak in Q3 as raw material crunch curtailed its production, analysts say. Standalone EBITDA or gross profit of India business came in at Rs 1,900 crore against estimates of more than Rs 2,200 crore.
Average selling price per tonne also declined by around 7 per cent sequentially. Angel Broking in a note to client said Tata Steel's domestic realisations came in at $743 per tonne against their estimates of $776.
Shares in Tata Steel, part of the $100 billion Tata conglomerate, fell 5.9 per cent in 2014, compared to a 31.4 per cent gain in the Nifty.
Tata Steel shares ended 5.75 per cent lower at Rs 347.45 apiece, underperforming the broader Nifty, which closed 1.56 per cent lower.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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