The gains, which arose from sales of stakes in other companies, allowed Tata to cut through some of the headwinds blowing against it. Nevertheless, conditions during the quarter were challenging, as the company grapples with rising tide of imports, both into Europe and India, its two key markets.

In Europe, demand is increasing modestly, but imports risk undermining Europe's steel industry, Karl-Ulrich Kohler, CEO of Tata Steel Europe said in a statement.

"Imports from China, in particular, have grown at an alarming rate -- hot rolled coil shipments from China have been arriving at more than three times the volumes of 2013 -- adversely affecting international steel prices," he said.

“Surging imports constitute a threat to European steelmaking. Uncompetitive energy costs and the strength of sterling are hurting our U.K. operations. These three factors caused our first quarter financial performance to deteriorate, despite our more stable production platform as seen in our improved operating performance.”

In India, steel prices dropped sharply due to a surge in imports and tepid domestic demand, said T V Narendran, managing director of Tata Steel India and South East Asia in a statement.   

"Despite these macro headwinds, we were able to increase our deliveries by 2 percent over last year. We continue to focus on enriching our product mix, improving our customer connect and strengthening our marketing franchise, which is yielding results across all our business verticals," he said.

More information on the company's earnings is available by clicking here.