SAIL aims at reducing net debt to Rs 15,000-20,000 crore in FY22

Steel Authority of India Ltd is aiming at reducing its net debt to a range of Rs 15,000-20,000 crore in the current fiscal if the prices and demand for the commodity remain stable, a top company official said on Thursday.

The Maharatna PSU has around Rs 30,000 crore net debt as of June 30, 2021, down from Rs 35,350 crore by end of the previous fiscal.

"We are aiming at reducing the debt drastically from around Rs 30,000 crore now to anywhere between Rs 15,000-20,000 crore, depending on steel prices and demand situation," SAIL chairman Soma Mondal said on the sidelines of the inauguration of MSTC's new headquarters in New Town on the outskirts of the city.

She was hopeful that demand will pick up in the coming months.

Prices of flat products remain stable, while those of long ones are improving, Mondal said.

Domestic steel major had decreased its net debt by Rs 16,131 crore to Rs 35,350 crore during the 2020-21 financial year.

The company had announced that it would spend Rs 8,000 crore as capital expenditure during the current financial year.

The steelmaker posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 3,897 crore for the April-June quarter of the 2021-22 fiscal, as against a loss of Rs 1,226 crore in the year-ago period.