India’s Welspun Corp, which makes pipes to move oil, natural gas and water, reported a jump in first-quarter profit on Wednesday as strong exports boost its margins and as expenses fell.
The company’s consolidated profit rose 50 per cent to Rs 248 cr (around $30 million) in the three months ended June 30.
Margins improved on the back of a better mix of exports, mainly to the US and Middle East, the company said. Its expenses dropped nearly 25 per cent, the results showed.
Welspun’s fortunes have gotten a boost from not only the growing demand for fuel in India but also from key export markets of the US and Middle East. Moreover, it has also benefitted from steel prices plunging to a more-than-three-year low in India.
That drop, along with lowered infrastructure spending during the national general elections in the quarter, hit the earnings of steelmakers, like JSW Steel and Jindal Steel.