SAIL Q2 Results: Net profit soars 318% on cost optimisation and higher sales; misses estimates

State-owned Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) on Tuesday (October 27) reported a 318.1% year-on-year jump in standalone net profit to ₹1,750.5 crore for the second quarter of financial year 2026-27, compared with ₹418.7 crore in the year-ago period.

The profit figure, however, fell short of the CNBC-TV18 poll estimate of ₹2,200 crore. The company said growth in sales volume and cost optimisation measures helped drive a sharp increase in profit after tax (PAT) during the quarter.

Revenue from operations rose 19.8% year-on-year to ₹31,998 crore from ₹26,704.2 crore. The revenue figure was marginally above the CNBC-TV18 poll estimate of ₹31,855 crore.

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Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased 66.8% to ₹4,216 crore from ₹2,528 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. However, EBITDA was below the CNBC-TV18 poll estimate of ₹4,765 crore.

EBITDA margin expanded by 373 basis points year-on-year to 13.2% from 9.47%. The margin was below the CNBC-TV18 poll estimate of 14.96%.

It reported a 5% year-on-year increase in sales volume in Q2 FY27, supported by increased outreach to retail and other consumers. SAIL also reduced its debt to ₹20,583 crore as it continued efforts to bring down borrowings.

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Dr A K Panda, CMD, SAIL said, "SAIL's performance in Q2 and H1 FY 2026-27 reflects our operational resilience, financial prudence and strategic agility amid global market volatility.

Leveraging India's strong infrastructure growth and rising domestic steel demand, we achieved a 24% QoQ growth in sales volume during Q2, supported by robust production, improvement in usage of raw material, and reduction in steel inventory. There is also a significant increase in iron ore production and sales.

Our focus remains on enhancing techno-economic parameters, rationalising costs, maintaining inventory discipline and increasing the share of high-end products to improve profitability."

Shares of Steel Authority of India Ltd ended at ₹171.50, up by ₹1.60, or 0.94%, on the BSE.

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