JSW Steel on Monday said it has clocked 15 per cent growth in annual crude steel production at 8.51 million tonnes (MT) in 2012-13.
The company had produced 7.4 MT of steel during the previous fiscal, it said in a statement.
The Sajjan Jindal-led steel maker said it could operate its Karnataka plant at 80 per cent capacity despite severe shortages of iron ore in the State.
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“In spite of severe constraints in availability and quality of iron ore in the state of Karnataka, the company could operate its Vijaynagar plant at about 80 per cent capacity due to its unique ability of using low grade iron ore through beneficiation process,” the statement said.
The company has its main facility at Karnataka with a 10 MT per year production capacity.
Its output for flat-rolled products in 2012-13 was up 17 per cent to 6.28 MT. It has produced 5.36 MT in 2011-12.
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Long products output increased by 18 per cent to 1.8 MT in the last financial year compared to 1.5 MT in 2011-12, the company said.
The company’s quarterly crude production, in the January- March period, was marginally up 2 per cent at 2.1 MT compared to 2 MT in the year-ago period.
Like other steel firms in Karnataka, the leading private sector steelmaker has been facing iron ore shortages for more than a year and half now due to restricted supply of the ore in the state, where the apex court had put a mining ban in July-August 2011.
Shares of the company were trading at Rs 681.45 a piece on the BSE at 1400 hours, up 0.91 per cent from previous close.