core sector communique

Gujarat NRE Q2 and Half Yearly results announced;

Production from Australian mines reaches record level

Kolkata, 12th November 2010: The Board of Directors of Gujarat NRE Coke Ltd, the largest independent met coke producer in India, at the board meeting held today approved the unaudited financial results of the company for the second quarter (Q2) ended 30^th September 2010.

The total income for the quarter ended 30th September 2010 stood at Rs 243.57 crores. In terms of cumulative half yearly figures, the total income was 695.72 crores, registering a marginal increase over Rs 693.45 crores achieved during the same period of 2009. The net profit after tax for the current quarter is Rs 9.92 crores. On a half year term, profit after tax registered a growth of more than 25% over the same period in 2009-10 (29.96 crores as against 23.85 crores last year), reflecting a strong growth momentum in the performance of the company.

According to Mr Arun Kumar Jagatramka, Chairman and Managing Director, Gujarat NRE Coke Ltd, “The second quarter was a relatively lean period compared to Q1 due to the monsoons , particularly this year we got excess rainfall . However with renewed demand, the price of coke has started rising since October after remaining sluggish for the entire of Q2. The price of coke is expected to rise further in coming months”. Commenting on the increase in market opportunities in exporting of coke he said, “Last month, we have exported coke to Malaysia and this month to Brazil”.

Speaking on the Australian operations, where Gujarat NRE owns and operates two premium quality hard coking coal mines, Mr Jagatramka said “We have achieved the record milestone of nearly doubling our production to 0.46 Million Tonnes in Q2 2010 compared to that of 0.26 Million Tonnes in Q2 2009 from our Australian mine.  NRE Wongawilli Colliery had also achieved the production target of over 10,000 tonnes in a day on 31^st August 2010”. He further added “Coking coal price is also on the rise with spot price hovering at around $220 - $230 per tonne levels.”

“As Gujarat NRE has been ramping up coking coal production rapidly in the Australian mines, surplus coal after sales to GNCL in India is now being sold to external customers. In this regard the first shipment has been made to a Chinese Steel mill through a Singapore trading house in this month. Earlier in the year low grade development coal was also sold to a Chinese Steel mill through a Japanese trading house” informed Mr Jagatramka. “We are working towards achieving 6 MTPA production in next 3-4 years and would be around 2 MTPA levels this year”, he added.