Steel Authority of India ltd. (SAIl), registered a turnover of Rs 12,860 crore in the first quarter of FY’18 (Q1FY18) posting a growth of 26 per cent over the turnover of Rs 10,180 crore achieved in corresponding period last year (CPlY). In the same quarter, the total sales volume at 3.028 million tonnes (MT) recorded a 9 per cent growth over CPlY.
The Company's sales of finished steel (without semis) were also higher by 4.12 lakh tonnes during Q1FY18 as compared to Q1FY17, recording a 19 per cent growth. With Management’s intensive focus on ramping up of new mills and enriched product mix from the new facilities, SAIl continued to remain EBITDA positive (Rs 23 crore EBITDA in Q1FY18) in Apr-June’17 period. In the Q1FY18, Company bore an impact of 115 per cent higher price on account of imported coal and 25 per cent higher price on account of indigenous coal over CPlY, pushing down the overall profitability margin despite a 14 per cent higher Net Sales Realisations (NSR) over same quarter last year. The profit after tax (PAT) stood at Rs (-) 801 crore for Q1FY'18. During the quarter, due to Cyclone Debbie the supplies of coking coal from Australia were adversely impacted, resulting in lower production volumes of saleable steel.
Chairman, SAIl, PK Singh said that, “We are maintaining positive EBITDA in spite of the challenging situation in the steel sector, and that shows the collective resolve of the Company. With the imported coal availability stabilising and focus on ramping up the new units, the situation will improve in coming quarters. We have drastically reduced production from inefficient units and are optimising the coal blend in operations to reduce costs. These steps will surely translate into improved financials going forward.”