NINL posts sharp rise in turnover in Apr-Aug, Ebitda positive

Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd's turnover jumped by Rs 298 crore in the first five months of fiscal 2018-19, compared to the corresponding period a year ago, Vice Chairman-cum-Managing Director S S Mohanty said.

The company also posted a positive Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) or operating income during the period.

From April to August, the NINL plant at Kalinga Nagar in Odisha's Jajpur district generated Ebitda of around Rs 4,000 per ton of pig iron, while the operating income was negative in the same period of last fiscal, a company release said.

The rise in turnover and positive Ebitda is attributed to considerable increase in production after the resumption of blast furnace operation in May 2018, Mohanty told shareholders at NINL's 36th AGM held at Bhubaneswar on Saturday.

With operations of its captive iron ore mines by end of this fiscal, NINL will turn around and make profit, the release said.

The company has achieved "highest-ever" production since inception in all operating areas in July, with hot metal of 83,690 ton, pig iron of 76,687 ton and sinter of 132,990 ton, it said.

NINL has also signed an MoU with NALCO to set up a coal tar distillation plant.

The company will start manufacturing TMT bars under the NINL brand in this fiscal and produce wire rods through conversion of billets, the release added.