Indian steelmaker Steel Authority of India Limited’s (Sail) crude steel production increased by 7pc to 1.417mn mt in November compared to prior-year period, according to data released by Press Information Bureau (PIB). Its combined production from the five integrated steel plants (ISPs) stood at 1.402mn mt compared to 1.303mn mt in November 2019.
The company recorded steel sales of 1.39mn mt in November. The company showed sustained improvement in growth with 2.7pc in cumulative sales in Apr-Nov period despite challenges faced by COVID-19 in the initial months when demand saw a significant dip leading to inventory build-up.
Anil Kumar Chaudhary, Chairman of Sail, said their performance in November 2020 was reflective of the company’s efforts coupled with improvement in market conditions. He said the current buoyancy in the market aided the company’s sales in both domestic and exports market. This helped the state-owned company bring down its inventory levels and deleverage its balance sheet “to a large extent”.