Steel giant SAIL has reported a 28 % fall in its consolidated net profit to Rs 2,478.82 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2022, mainly on account of higher expenses.

The company had clocked Rs 3,469.88 crore net profit during the January-March quarter of 2020-21, Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) said in a regulatory filing on Monday.

During the quarter under review, the company’s total income rose to Rs 31,175.25 crore from Rs 23,533.19 crore in the year-ago period.

Total expenses were at Rs 28,005.28 crore against Rs 18,829.26 crore a year ago.

The company’s board has also recommended a final dividend of Rs 2.25 per share for FY22.

In a separate statement, SAIL said its “borrowings stood below Rs 13,400 crore as on March 31, 2022”.

In January-March 2022, the company produced 4.60 million tonnes (MT) steel compared to 4.56 MT in the year-ago quarter.

Its sales in the March 2022 quarter rose to 4.71 MT from 4.34 MT a year ago.

“The fourth quarter could not be fully insulated from the unprecedented rise in input costs, especially the price rise of imported coking coal on account of various reasons,” SAIL said.

Notwithstanding the challenges, the company has taken several proactive steps to contain costs.

Going forward, the company has plans to meet the twin challenges of higher input costs and market price volatility by undertaking various measures for continual improvement in its processes and products basket.