Jindal Steel & Power posted a marginal decline in its quarterly profit and warned that FY12 may not be a very good year as steel consumers, hurt by high interest rate and inflation, slow investments.

Mr Sushil Maroo director and group CFO told reporters in a conference call that the company, which has been shortlisted for a bid by Australian coal explorer Bandanna Energy, will make a final bid for it.

Mr Maroo said that "Our main interest is in coking coal....We are interested in any such asset which is available at a good price.”

India depends almost completely on imports for coking coal, a key input for steel industry. Indian state run power utility NTPC has already said it has been shortlisted for Bandanna.

Sources had told Reuters in May that India's Aditya Birla Group, JSW Steel and China's CITIC Resources Holdings are among interested parties looking at the company.

Bandanna said earlier this month it had asked potential bidders for the company to provide binding offers after short listing parties as part of a strategic review.

The proposed bids included individual project assets and corporate-based transactions.

(Sourced from Reuters)