SAIL crude steel output grows 9 pc to 4.37 MT in Oct-Dec

State-owned SAIL on Friday posted 9 per cent growth in crude steel output at 4.37 million tonne MT during October-December period of the ongoing fiscal year. The company had produced 4 MT crude steel in the year-ago period, SAIL said in a statement. During this financial year, the company has continuously enhanced its production volumes.

State-owned SAIL on Friday posted 9 per cent growth in crude steel output at 4.37 million tonne (MT) during October-December period of the ongoing fiscal year. The company had produced 4 MT crude steel in the year-ago period, SAIL said in a statement. During the period under review, its total sales were at 4.32 MT, up about 6 per cent from 4.09 MT in the corresponding quarter of the preceding fiscal year. ''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 corresponding period last year (CPLY) in the last quarter,'' SAIL Chairman Soma Mondal said. She further said the domestic steel consumption has a positive outlook as the economy is reviving and all sectors have started to pick up, and the company is confident of seizing the unfolding opportunities in the steel market. The statement further said, ''SAIL has significantly reduced the net debt from a peak of Rs 52,290 crore on April 30, 2020 to Rs 44,308 crore in December 2020, a reduction of Rs 7,982 crore. The company continues its efforts to deleverage further.'' SAIL, under the Ministry of Steel, is India's largest steel producer with an annual capacity of about 21 million tonne per annum (MTPA).