New Delhi (IP News). Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), achieved the best ever quarterly production of Hot Metal, Crude Steel and Saleable Steel during the quarter ended 31st Dec-20, and witnessed a handsome growth over CPLY.
The sales volume of the company has also registered a growth. The total sales (including domestic and exports) grew by 5.6% during the Q3 FY’21 over CPLY. And the total sales in the 9M period of April – December 2020 also increased marginally.
Smt. Soma Mondal, Chairman, SAIL commented, “During this financial year, the company has continuously enhanced its production volumes. The first quarter was impacted due to the onset of the pandemic but gradually we have scaled up our performance by enhancing the volumes. It is heartening that the pre-covid levels have already been reached and the production has grown over CPLY in the last quarter”. She added, “The consistent growth reflects that SAIL is poised to grow steadily in future. The domestic steel consumption has a positive outlook as the economy is reviving and all sectors have started to pick-up. We are confident of seizing the unfolding opportunities in the steel market”.
Sale of Iron Ore Fines: The Ministry of Mines, GoI has allowed SAIL to sell 25% of its total Iron ore production calculated on the basis of cumulative production of all captive mines in a state, as well as sub-grade minerals lying at the mine pit heads. In compliance of this notification, SAIL has already sold approximately 2.16 Million Tonnes (MT) of Fresh Fines through auction during the current financial year from its various mines. Around 0.3 MT of Dump Fines and Tailings have also been successfully auctioned during this period. This has helped to alleviate, to some extent, the shortage of Iron Ore in the market.
Deleveraging: SAIL has significantly reduced the net debt from a peak of Rs 52290 crores on 30th Apr-20 to Rs 44308 crores on 31st Dec-20 – a reduction of Rs 7982 crores. The company continues its efforts to deleverage further.