Gateway to boom

Calcutta, Jan. 3 (PTI): Tata Iron and Steel Company (Tisco) said today its crude and saleable steel production as well as domestic sales in April-December increased 6 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively.

“Domestic sales stood at 2.45 million tonnes between April and December, which is 7 per cent higher than 2.30 million tonnes in the year-ago period,” a company press release said.

The company's steel exports stood at 0.46 million tonnes during the reporting period.

Crude and saleable steel production was 3.17 million tonnes and 3.05 million tonnes, respectively, registering an increase of 6 per cent over the previous year's figures for the same period.

Earlier, Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), the country’s largest steel producer, had reported an 8 per cent increase in saleable steel to 8.17 million tonnes in the nine-month period.

SAIL had announced record sales of mild steel at 7.56 million tonnes in the same period, registering a 10 per cent growth, while its production of hot metal set a record at 9.79 million tonnes, growing by 9 per cent in April-December 2003 compared with the same period of previous year.

The public sector navratna company had also said its crude steel production had increased to 9.07 million tonnes, recording a 9 per cent growth as compared with the same period of previous year.

Tata Steel said its efforts to enrich the product mix, enter into synergistic partnerships with auto customers and to brand its products had paid rich dividends.

The company has been trying to hedge its performance against the cyclical nature of steel business.

During the nine-month period of the current financial year, sale of branded products like Tata Tiscon reinforcing bars, Tata Shaktee corrugated galvanised sheets and Tata Steelium cold-rolled sheets increased significantly.

“This strategy has continued to facilitate Tata Steel’s ambition of becoming an economic value-added positive company, a situation it aspires to sustain,” the company said.

Earlier, Tata Steel managing director B. Muthuraman had said to become an economic value-added positive, the company would have to report a net profit of not less than Rs 1000 crore.

It had already crossed the Rs 1100-crore profit mark in the previous year. The share market is expecting the company to report over Rs 1500 crore of net profit in 2003-04.

Riding on this optimism and also due to bullish phase in capital market, the share price of Tata Steel had already crossed the Rs 450 mark from a low of Rs 70 only a few months back, market sources said.