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.

JSL Ltd had posted a loss of Rs 378.38 crore for the third quarter of the fiscal 2008-09.

There has hence been a pick-up in demand in the latest quarter (January-March 2008) but that has not been enough to "wipe out the damage caused during the December quarter,"  Mathur said.

Stainless Steel prices are ruling below $1,200 a tonne against its peak price of $3,500 recorded last year.

The Indian Stainless Steel Manufacturers Association, which represents the interest of Indian manufacturers and exporters of stainless steel utensils, cutleries etc, has, meanwhile, urged prime minister Manmohan Singh to reconsider the commerce ministry's move to impose anti-dumping duty on stainless steel imports into the country.

In a letter to the prime minister association president Praful N Shah has pointed out various anomalies in the move to impose AD duty on stainless steel products.

''While conducting the investigation, ministry of commerce has very cleverly bypassed all the objections and observations raised by the exporters from the developed countries. End users, manufacturers, importers and various end user associations on one pretext or the other and have blatantly favored the only petitioner Jindal Stainless who does not even enjoy a big share in the Indian market,'' he pointed out.