has lent funds to other parts of his debt-plagued global operations, even though December-half profits plunged by 75 per cent and cash flow dropped sharply.
It is viewed by analysts as one of the best-performing businesses in Mr Gupta’s global GFG Alliance stable, but is also being handicapped by a punishing 14.5 per cent interest rateSanjeev Gupta, the executive chairman of GFG Alliance, the global steel business which is the parent of the Australian unit InfraBuild.
InfraBuild was also affected by electricity issues at its electric arc furnace steel mill in the western Sydney suburb of Rooty Hill, where a transformer problem in September resulted in a $9.5 million hit to earnings, with the issue only fully fixed by December. The financial hit was deemed “non-recoverable” from an insurance perspective.
Net operating cash flow for the half of $62 million slumped by $210 million from a year ago, pulled down by lower earnings and a build-up of working capital.