NINL scripts best ever quarterly, half-yearly, monthly hot metal production

Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited (NINL) on Friday said it has stepped closer to its turnaround plan by achieving all time high production in 2018 at its integrated iron and steel plant in Odisha's Kalinga Nagar.

With further growth in production, value added billets, iron ore from the captive mines in its basket and converting part of the billets into TMT, wire rod - the company aims to make net profit in next financial year, NINL said in a statement.

Riding on the capital repair of its blast furnace - NINL witnessed all time best calendar year with highest ever third quarterly (Q3) hot metal production of 537,720 tonne, best ever first half-yearly (H1) hot metal production of 367,735 tonne and best ever monthly hot metal production of 85,090 in December, it said.

The company also achieved 110 per cent of the rated capacity of the blast furnace on a daily basis with 3,412-tonne hot metal output on December 15. However, as the NINL's blast furnace resumed production in May last year after the capital repair, it achieved the production only in eight months.

S S Mohanty, Vice-Chairman & MD, NINL, said, "The production growth is most significant for the turnaround of the company. The next target is production of value added billets, conversion of part of the billets into TMT, wire rod and operation of the captive mines towards the start of the next fiscal which will strengthen the company's bottom-line."

The last calendar year was also most significant as NINL achieved two of the three milestones planned for the turnaround of the company with completion of the capital repair of the blast furnace and resuming of billet production by restarting of the steel melting shop (SMS).

The third milestone of operation of the captive mines is expected in early next fiscal.