At its 40th annual general meeting on Friday, shareholders passed a special resolution authorising SAIL to purchase, acquire or hold its own shares or other specific securities in line with the applicable statutes.
“It is only an enabling resolution and there are no immediate plans for a buy-back,” SAIL Chairman C.S. Verma said. He said the company may go in for a buy-back at an appropriate time depending on the market conditions.
Following this, the SAIL scrip touched an intraday high of Rs 93.80 on the BSE before ending at Rs 92.55, a gain of 7.68 per cent over the previous close.
Verma said the demand outlook continues to be satisfactory in the domestic market, where consumption has grown by 6.9 per cent in the April-August period. “The pressure on prices continues, but they are unlikely to fall further,” Verma said.
Since April, flat steel prices have dropped to Rs 35,000 a tonne from Rs 38,500 a tonne. Long product prices have dropped to Rs 44,000 a tonne from Rs 47,000, Verma said.
The SAIL Chairman expects demand to pick up in the near-term with the onset of the brisk season as the monsoon comes to an end.