Tata Steel posts lower sales, production in Q4 due to Kalinganagar incident

Leading steel producer Tata Steel on Friday reported a 6.23 per cent decline in domestic sales at 3.01 million tonnes (mt) and a 4.06 per cent drop in production at 3.07 mt in the March quarter (Q4FY18).

It had sold 3.21 mt in the domestic market in the same period last year, while the production stood at 3.20 mt.

The company cited breakdown in the blast furnace at Kalinganagar plant as the main reason for lower production and sales, according to a statement released on Friday.

Tata Steel Europe sales volumes were also lower at 2.48 mt in Q4FY18, compared with 2.85 mt in Q4FY17, while the production remained flat at 2.62 mt mainly due to unplanned outages, it said.

However, the production and sales volumes of the company in South East Asia were stable on a quarter-on-quarter basis, according to the release.

The company had earlier this month reported a 11 per cent rise in domestic sales at 12.13 mt in financial year 2017-18, compared with 10.97 mt in FY17.

It's production also increased to 12.48 mt in FY18, against 11.68 mt in the previous year.

Tata Steel said its domestic production improved with better utilisation at Jamshedpur works coupled with continued ramp-up at Kalinganagar in FY18.