AMNS India crude steel production up 5 pc at record 7.23 MT in FY20

Steel maker AMNS India on Thursday said it has produced a record 7.23 MT crude steel registering a jump of 5 per cent during the financial year 2019-20.

India-based AMNS India, a JV between Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal and Japan's Nippon Steel Corporation, had produced 6.92 MT crude steel in 2018-19, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India) said in a statement.

"AMNS India attained record production volumes in FY 2019-20 despite challenging economic conditions, including the fallout of COVID-19 in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year. Crude steel production in FY2019-20 grew by 5 per cent to 7.23 MT compared to 6.92 MT in FY2018-19," it said.

The company's pellet production reached 11.63 MT during the previous fiscal, up 9.4 per cent from 10.63 MT in 2018-19.

Pellets are used in the production of steel and are made from iron ore. These are typically fed to a blast furnace or DRI (directly reduced iron) plant as part of the process to make steel.

AMNS India said despite the central and state governments designating steel production as an essential service during the ongoing lockdown, constraints on the movement of people, logistics and downstream industries forced for a significant cut in production to prevent build-up of surplus inventory.

Despite price and demand volatility, AMNS India made great strides to improve its overall performance and operational efficiency. Our record performance would have been even stronger but for the impact of COVID-19 on domestic and global steel demand towards the end of March," AMNS India CEO Dilip Oommen said.

The entire industry has been impacted by a weakening demand from large scale steel-consuming sectors such as automotive and construction, AMNS India said.

"During these extraordinary times, the health and safety of our employees comes above all. Our efforts have focused on ensuring that our facilities operate safely and securely. We have undertaken steps to achieve stability in our operations, as well as detailed planning so that we are well-prepared to ramp up operations when the situation improves, while also protecting employees and meeting customer needs," Oommen said.

AMNS India owns and operates 10 million tonne per annun (MTPA) integrated steel at Hazira in Gujarat. The company also has two pellet plants, one each in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, with an aggregate capacity of 14 MTPA.