New Delhi, Dec. 27 (PTI): The year 2003 could be rightly dubbed as watershed year for the steel industry, which touched its pinnacle both in terms of profitability and value for investment after suffering the recessionary pressures for four years at a stretch.

Buoyed by a near-continuous increase in the product prices coupled with an astute cost management, major steel producers, be it private sector or public sector monolith SAIL, increased production by about 7 per cent to cater to both growing demand in the country and external markets like China and other Asian markets.

SAIL recorded a gigantic Rs 760 crore profit in April-September and its stock soared to over Rs 50 a share, a ten-fold increase in the course of a few months.

After a prolonged recession, SAIL and Tisco led the upswing and players like Essar, Ispat and Jindals shared the booty as was evident from their financial results and trading in these counters.

In the first three quarters of 2003, the financial results of most steel companies indicate that downturn in steel is over, thanks to soaring steel prices continuously for over 15 months now.

If the big rise in steel prices, especially in the flat categories (hot-rolled coil) has demonstrated brighter days ahead, the issue has also invited adverse comments from the user industry.