SAIL has registered a seven per cent rise in crude steel output at 1.16 million tonnes (mt) for August over 1.08 mt in the corresponding period last year.
Hot metal production for the period grew eight per cent to 1.22 mt against 1.13 m t. Production of saleable steel grew five per cent to 1.09 mt against 1.04 mt.
SAIL said the growth “assumes significance considering the fact that world over the production levels have stagnated for the last couple of months”.
Cumulative output of crude steel for the April-August 2012 period stood at 5.65 mt, a growth of three per cent over 5.5 mt in the corresponding period last year.
Hot metal output was also up three per cent at 6 mt against 5.83 mt. However, saleable steel output was up by less than a per cent to 5.16 m t.
SAIL, in a statement said, its blast furnace productivity in August was up nine per cent over corresponding last year with the company’s continued thrust on improving techno-economic parameters.
For the April-June quarter, SAIL reported an 18 per cent drop in net profit at Rs 696.41 crore on higher foreign exchange losses over the corresponding last quarter.
Net sales were down 1.5 per cent at Rs 10,777.60 crore on sluggish offtake.