New Delhi, April 29 : Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) Tuesday announced a 28 percent drop in consolidated net profit of Rs. 402.5 crore for the fourth quarter ended-March due to higher depreciation and interest as well as lower sales.

The company had posted a Rs. 562 crore net profit for the same quarter in the previous fiscal.

"Net profit is down because of a variety of reasons such as higher depreciation and interest and a planned shutdown in our Raigarh plant," JSPL chief executive Ravi Uppal said.

JSPL's interest and depreciation aggregated to Rs. 3,330 crore in the quarter in question, compared to Rs. 2,397 crore in the previous fiscal.

JSPL reported a 16 percent fall in sales at 766,000 tonnes, compared to 908,000 tonnes a year earlier.

"Had there been no shutdown, our sales would have gone up by Rs. 550-600 crore," Uppal said.

On the year-on-year basis, net profit was down by 34 percent at Rs. 1,910 crore.

During the year, the company's steel-making capacity went up to 7.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) from 3 mtpa.

JSPL stock closed Tuesday at Rs. 253.20 a share, down 20.25 points, or 7.41 percent, compared to its previous close on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). (IANS)