SAIL returns to black; posts Rs 3,897-cr net profit for June quarter

Domestic steel major SAIL on Friday returned to the black, posting a consolidated net profit of Rs 3,897.36 crore for the June 2021 quarter.

The company had posted a Rs 1,226.47-crore net loss in the year-ago quarter, Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) said in a BSE filing.

Its net income during April-June 2021 more than doubled to Rs 20,754.75 crore, compared with Rs 9,346.21 crore in the year-ago period.

Total expenses stood at Rs 15,604.07 crore, against Rs 11,325.10 crore a year ago.

In a statement, the company said its crude steel production during the quarter stood at 3.77 million tonnes and sales 3.32 million tonnes.

Its Chairman Soma Mondal said, "The performance during the quarter bears testimony to objective-driven strategy and resilience by the SAIL collective despite the adverse impact of the dominant second wave of COVID-19."

She added that though demand for steel products in the quarter has not had the same momentum as during the March 2021 quarter, focused interventions in several areas of operations have helped in achieving this robust performance.

The demand in the later part of the year is expected to remain healthy with sustained domestic consumption coming from sectors like infrastructure, manufacturing, packaging and automotive, Mondal said. She added it is indicated from the present consumption cycle and future sectoral trends.

SAIL, under the Ministry of Steel, is the country's largest steel-making company having an annual steel making capacity of about 21 million tonnes.