SAIL posts Rs 1,720 cr loss

NEW DELHI, MAY 27: Steel Authority of India Ltd's net loss has risen 6.3 per cent to Rs 1,720 crore for the year ended March 31, 2000 even...

NEW DELHI, MAY 27: Steel Authority of India Ltd’s net loss has risen 6.3 per cent to Rs 1,720 crore for the year ended March 31, 2000 even as turnover rose 8.4 per cent to Rs 16,250 crore.

Commenting on the performance, SAIL chairman Arvind Pande said on Saturday, "building on the relief given to us by the government, we are now confident of improving our financial performance every quarter through progressively better operating parameters."

The trends so far in the first quarter of the current fiscal have been encouraging, Pande added. SAIL said that the bottomline of the company was primarily affected by the adverse market conditions prevailing during the first three quarters of 1999-2000. Despite a sluggish market, the company sold 8.9 MTPA in the domestic market, recording a growth of 7.5 per cent.

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Export sales grew by 80 per cent as the company shipped eight lakh tonnes of steel during the year. The average price realisation remains unchanged with the domestic market’s growth by three per cent, while export realisations dropped.

SAIL effected savings of Rs 713 crore during 1999-2000, partly neutralising the adverse market-related factors. This led to a two per cent reduction in the variable cost of production during the year. In addition, the thrust on inventory reduction yielded Rs 1,963 crore, bringing about improved working capital management, SAIL said.

TISCO PROFITS UP: It may be recalled that Tata Iron and Steel Company has registered a 50 per cent increase in net profit to Rs 422.59 crore in financial year 1999-2000, up from Rs 282.23 crore in the previous year. Analysts had expected an increase in net profit to around Rs 350 crore for the period.

Tata Steel managing director JJ Irani said: "The increase in profits are due to higher quantity, better product mix and an overall increase in prices. The increase in quantity has generated Rs 371.109 crore and higher prices Rs 92.33 crore and the reamining came from favourable mix in net realisations."

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The company has made a profit of Rs 125.26 crore on the sale of its cement division which was however offset by a Rs 157.99 crore outgo on account of a voluntary retirement scheme. Following the VRS, the employee strength has come down to 52,167 at the end of March 2000 compared to 78,669 in 1995.

"In the last six months international prices have been increasing. The company has also however decreased the cost of its production in HR coil in the last two-three months to around $157 per tonne compared to an average of around $172 per ton from April 1999-February 2000. The company has also increased its continuous casting to 94.9 per cent for the period compared to 73.6 per cent per cent the previous year. This has given the company an increased cost advantage," Irani said.