SAIL tanks 6%, stock at year-low on BSE

Steel major SAIL in early trade on Friday touched its yearly-low when it declined six per cent to Rs 162.50 a share on the Bombay Stock Exchange on poor third quarter results.

Hit by rising raw material costs, the company posted 33.9 per cent dip in its net profit at Rs 1,107.47 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2010, against Rs 1,675.55 crore in the same quarter last financial year.

Reacting sharply to the poor numbers, SAIL stock opened on a disappointing note and plunged six per cent to Rs 162.50 a share in early trade. Massive sell-off was also seen at the company's counter on the National Stock Exchange, where it tumbled 5.39 per cent to Rs 163 a share.

On the volume front, over 30 lakh shares of the company were traded within the first half-an-hour of trade.

Meanwhile, BSE's 30-share key index Sensex was trading 116.25 points down at 19,066.57 at 9.47 am.