Tata Steel, the Indian group that controls Anglo-Dutch producer Corus, on Tuesday said net profit in the second quarter of its financial year fell by half on the back of a near 35 per cent decline in domestic steel prices this year.

The group, considered one of the world’s most profitable steelmakers, also reported a large increase in its finance charges as it digested debt which was swallowed as part of its £6.7bn acquisition of Corus in 2007.