Jindal Stainless warns of first annual loss in FY'09

Jindal Stainless Ltd, country's largest stainless steel producer, has warned that the company may register a loss in the current fiscal due to high raw material cost and waning demand of the alloy due to cheap imports.

"For the first time in our history we may post a loss for the financial year ended March 2009, mainly due to high cost nickel inventory with us amid the slump in demand for our products," JSL director (corporate affairs) N C Mathur said. He, however, did not specify the amount of loss.

Jindal Stainless had, towards the end of 2008, lodged a complaint against dumping of cold rolled flat stainless steel from the world over.''

The company had also undertaken temporary shutdowns at its plants during the last fiscal in a bid to cut down both inventories and production.

These are expected to bring JSL's annual production of the alloy to 5 lakh tonnes against an installed capacity of 7.2 lakh tonnes.

"We resorted cost cutting, extended shutdowns to tide over the turbulent times. It would have an impact on our revenues as well. We expect it to be around Rs5,000 crore for 2008-09," Mathur said.