New Delhi, Jan. 30 -- Jindal Steel, India's fourth-largest steelmaker, announed its Q3 earnings after market hours on Friday, reporting a decline in profit during the December quarter due to weak steel prices, higher costs and one time loss related to labour code implementation. Earlier, its shares closed 1.91% lower on the Bombay Stock Exchange while the Sensex closed 0.36% lower.

The company, headed by billionaire Naveen Jindal, reported an almost 80% drop in net profit attributable to the owners, to Rs.190 crore from to Rs.951 crore in same quarter last year, according to the company's exchange filings. Profit fell well short of the Rs.526-crore average estimate from a Bloomberg poll of 11 analysts.

Revenue for the quarter rose 10.9%...