SAIL Oct-Dec sales grow 6% to 3 million tonnes

Company said its sales in December grew by 14% to 1.13 mn tonne compared to the same month last year

Buoyed by increased sales in both domestic and export markets, Steel Authority of India (SAIL) has clocked a 6% rise during October-December period to 2.98 million tonnes (MT).

"The upward trend in performance in the last couple of months is an outcome of concerted efforts directed at sales improvement in both domestic and international markets," the public sector steel maker said in a statement today.

"Strategic focus on enhanced production especially of value-added products has resulted in sustained growth on production and sales front," it added.

Exports of the company during the period went up by 122% to 1.77 lakh tonnes, SAIL said, adding that production too rose by 4% over the same period last year.

Indian steel makers are increasingly looking at export markets for sales to offset the impact of rupee depreciation and lower their inventory levels in the face of poor domestic demand.

The domestic demand for steel in the country has grown by just 0.4% during the April-November period of current fiscal due to subdued demand from the end-use segments.

SAIL said its sales in December grew by 14% to 1.13 MT compared to the same month last year. Total production during the month rose by 7% to 1.16 MT.

"On techno-economic front, coke rate and energy consumption improved by one% each in the month of December, 2013 over the same month last year," SAIL said.

Meanwhile, the company said its Chairman C S Verma in his New Year address to employees has laid emphasis on the need for excellence in areas like improving quality of inputs and enlarging share of value added products for higher net sales realisations.