The Hindu : Business : SAIL posts record profit

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SAIL posts record profit

Special Correspondent

S. K. Roongta

NEW DELHI: Riding on cost cutting measures and improved production of value-added steel, Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) on Friday reported highest-ever net profit of Rs. 7,536.78 crore in 2007-08, up 21.5 per cent.

“Our full-year net profit rose by 21.5 per cent, while gross sales crossed Rs. 45,000-crore mark in the fiscal,” SAIL Chairman, S. K. Roongta, said, sharing the annual results after the board meeting here.

While gross annual sales clocked Rs. 45,555.34 crore in 2007-08, the fourth quarter net profit rose nearly 25 per cent to Rs. 2,376.76 crore. He said the company had managed to save Rs. 300 crore owing to various cost cutting measures.

As steel prices emerging as a major contributor to inflation, SAIL and other steel makers recently agreed to hold the price line for up to three months.

This has followed an intervention by the government as part of its inflation-control measures.

Noting that rising steel prices are a cause of concern for the government and the masses, he said prices within the country had risen by 30-50 per cent on different grades.

“We are conscious of the growing demand-supply mismatch in the steel sector and have accordingly decided to produce one million tonnes more steel in the current year,” he said. However, SAIL chief said, “But we need to understand that input costs have shot through the roof and especially coking coal and scrap prices have risen steeply.”

Mr. Roongta said SAIL had achieved a record production of 13 million tonnes of salable steel last fiscal by ensuring capacity utilisation of 118 per cent. Its production of value-added steel was up 30 per cent at 3.5 million tonnes.

About ensuring raw material security for the public sector unit, Mr. Roongta said efforts were on to remove bottlenecks in resolving various issues for securing Chiria mines in Jharkhand and Rowghat mines in Chhattisgarh.

For its capacity expansion programme, he said the company had placed orders for over Rs. 20,000 crore for its projects in IISCO steel plant, Salem, Rourkela and Durgapur units.

Mr. Roongta expressed the hope that the export duty imposed on the steel would not be a permanent measure as it would adversely hit the resource generation capacity of the steel utilities.

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