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Tata Steel sales up in April-December

KOLKATA JAN. 3. Tata Iron and Steel Company said today that its crude and salable steel production as well as domestic sales during April-December increased by 6 per cent and 7 per cent respectively.

"Domestic sales stood at 2.45 million tonnes between April and December which is 7 per cent higher than that of last year's 2.30 million tonnes," a company release said here. The company's exports stood at 4.6 lakh tonnes during the period.

Crude and salable steel production was 3.17 million tonnes and 3.05 million tonnes respectively, which correspond to a jump of 6 per cent over the same period in the previous year. Earlier, country's largest producer, Steel Authority of India, had reported 8 per cent increase in salable steel to 8.17 million tonnes during the nine-month period.

SAIL had announced record sales of mild steel at 7.56 million tonnes during the same period, that is, 10 per cent growth, while its production of hot metal set a record at 9.79 million tonnes, growing by 9 per cent in April-December 2003 as compared to the same period in the previous year. The public sector company had also said its crude steel production had increased to 9.07 million tonnes, recording a 9 per cent growth as compared to the same period in the previous year. Tata Steel said its efforts to enrich the product mix, enter into synergistic partnerships with auto customers and to brand its products had paid rich dividends. The company has been trying to hedge its performance against the cyclical nature of steel business.

During the nine-month period of the current fiscal, sale of branded products such as Tata Tiscon reinforcing bars, Tata Shaktee corrugated galvanised sheets and Tata Steelium cold rolled sheets increased significantly. "This strategy has continued to facilitate Tata Steel's ambition of becoming an EVA positive company, a situation it aspires to sustain," the company said.

Earlier, Tata Steel Managing Director, B. Muthuraman, had said that to become EVA positive, the company would have to report a net profit of not less than Rs. 1000 crores. It had already crossed Rs. 1100-crore profit mark in the previous year. The share market is expecting the company to report over Rs. 1500 crores of net profit during 2003-04. Riding on this optimism and also due to bullish phase in the capital market, the share price of Tata Steel had already crossed the Rs. 450 mark from a low of Rs. 70 only a few months back. — PTI

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