SAIL posts 20% growth in sales in Q2

STEEL Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) posted a 20 per cent growth in total sales during the April-October 2016 period over the corresponding period last year.
While the Maharatna PSU’s domestic sales went up by 15% with improvement in both long and flat products, exports volumes rose by more than three times in the Apr- Oct 2016 period over Apr-Oct’15.
The rise in export was backed by a conscious strategy of the company to expand its footprint in the neighboring...
markets, SAIL said in a statement on November 2.
However, the actual sales figures were not revealed.
On the production front, SAIL clocked an improved output during the period under review with a 22% growth in saleable steel production compared to the same period last year.
SAIL Chairman PK Singh said: "The management's sustained emphasis to improve every process from production up to reaching the consumers is beginning to show results."
The stabilisation of new mills under the modernisation programme has also contributed to the improved volumes and sales, he added.
"All this would strengthen state-run firm's performance at a time when there is a pick-up in activities of steel intensive sectors. Also, the positive environment brought in by Government of India, including its competitive trade policies and measures, has helped improve market sentiment," he said.
During April-October, domestic sales went up by 15 per cent with improvement in both long and flat products, it said, adding that exports volumes also rose by more than three times backed by a conscious strategy of the company to expand its footprint in neighboring markets.
On the production front, the April-October period clocked better performance with 22 per cent growth in saleable steel production compared with the corresponding period last year.
The techno-economic parameters also registered an uptick with 7 per cent improvement in BF (blast furnace) productivity and 3 per cent improvement in coke rate, SAIL added.
SAIL is India's largest steel producing company. With a turnover of Rs. 50,627 crore in the year 2014-15, the Maharatna PSU has five integrated steel plants, three special plants, and one subsidiary in different parts of the country. The Maharatna PSU is targeting steel production at 17 million tonnes for FY17 and 20 million tonnes for FY18. The PSU also plans to target 70 percent sales in the northern and eastern regions and increase its presence in the Make in India sectors like defence, aerospace and nuclear power.
The largest domestic steel producer will be the major supplier of the metal to be used for constructing Sardar Vallabbhai Patel's statue in Gujarat. The over 182-meter statue of India's first Deputy Prime Minister -- Statue of Unity -- is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pet project and is billed to be the world's tallest. It is coming up near the Sardar Sarovar dam across Narmada River in Narmada district of Gujarat.