Announcing financial results, NMDC Chairman and Managing Director Rana Som attributed the rise in net profit to higher production, sales and “comfortable” price of the key steel making raw material. NMDC’s net profit was Rs 1,066 crore in the same quarter a year ago.

“During the fourth quarter of last fiscal, our production and sales were 8.58 million tonnes and 8.42 million tonnes respectively, which are a record in the company's history. Prices were also comfortable,” Som said.

The rise in production and sales is 24 per cent and 22 per cent higher than the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

Net sales of the company during the quarter also nearly doubled to Rs 3,769.75 crore against Rs 1,983.33 crore in the January-March quarter of the previous fiscal.

On Year-on-year basis, NMDC's sales rose to Rs 11,369 crore in the last fiscal over Rs 6,239 crore in FY'10. Net profit also went up to Rs 6,499 crore compared to Rs 3,447 crore in FY'10.

“This is a sustainable trend. We are confident that this trend will be maintained in the current fiscal,” Som said.

The production and sales of NMDC during 2010-11 were at 25.16 million tonnes and 26.32 million tonnes representing an increase of six per cent and nine per cent, respectively over 2009-10.