New Delhi: The public sector steel behemoth, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), has posted a net loss of Rs 342.84 crore in second quarter ending on September 30, 2019.
SAIL, however, achieved its best ever Hot Metal and Crude Steel production during Q2 FY’20.
Declaring the Q2 financial result on Friday, the SAIL chairman Anil Kumar Chaudhary said, “The second quarter was affected by a lot of factors both domestic and global. It is common knowledge that several steel consuming sectors including auto, infrastructure and manufacturing did notperform well in the said quarter. At the same time, the prices have also faced continuing downward pressure. This has reflected in the results”.
The chairman said, “During the period, the Company has undertaken several measures for cost reduction across the organisation. The measures include improving operational efficiency through better techno-economic performances, better utilization of raw materials and improving revenue generation through other means. These efforts were supplemented with higher employee engagement and participation in cost control efforts. The company will continue to take further measures in the area of cost control in the coming quarters”.
Meanwhile, timely announcement of new corporate tax rates and a slew of measures for increasing infrastructure and allied demand for steel by the government raise hope for the future. Its positive ripples will be reflecting in the coming quarters. The move for new corporate tax regime is expected to bring in investments in new projects from the freed up cash. The renewed thrust of the Government on investments and infrastructure projects, coupled with industry-friendly measures are likely to help in increasing steel demand in the second half of the Financial Year, signalling that the worst period may be over.
The salient features of SAIL’s performance are given below:
| Item | Q2 FY 2019-20 | Q2 FY 2018-19 | %Growth (+/-) |
| Hot Metal Production | 4.20 Million Tonnes | 3.97 Million Tonnes | 6% |
| Crude Steel Production | 3.89 Million Tonnes | 3.70 Million Tonnes | 5% |
| Saleable Steel Production | 3.56 Million Tonnes | 3.54 Million Tonnes | 1% |
| Turnover | Rs 13, 951 Crore | Rs 16,541 Crore | (-) 16% |
| EBITDA | Rs 1322 Crore | Rs 2474 Crore | (-) 47% |
| EBITDA per TonneSaleable Steel Sales | Rs 4200 | Rs 7118 | (-) 41% |
