<p>JSW Steel today said it has clocked 16% growth in annual crude steel production at 7.43 million tonne (MT) in 2011-12.
However, the Sajjan Jindal-led steel maker missed its initial production guidance of 8.75 MT due to shortage of iron ore in Karnataka, where it operates main production facility with a 10 MT per year capacity.
"In view of scarcity of iron ore due to imposition of ban on iron ore mining in Karnataka by Supreme Court, the company had to scale down its production, thus actual achievement is only 85% of initial guidance," JSW said in a statement.
It's output for flat-rolled products was 9% more to 5.36 MT in last fiscal, while long production increased by 34% to 1.52 MT.
Company's quarterly crude production, in the January- March period, was also up 26% at 2.07 MT compared to previous year's figures of 1.65 MT.
The company, which had produced 6.40 MT in FY'11, was hoping to raise production in 2011-12 on the back of increased capacity of 3.2 MT, commissioned in May at Vijayanagar.
However, shortage of iron ore in the state due to the ban put brakes on company's plans. During August-September, the company had scaled down production to 30% levels, when iron ore crisis was at its peak.
Its present capacity utilisation at Karnataka plant is in the range of 70% as quality of iron ore has emerged as a big cause of concern for the company in last few months, a senior JSW official said.
Shares of the company were trading at Rs 701.50 apiece on the BSE at 1410 hours, up 2.04% from previous close.
