During the first quarter of fiscal 2023–24, Steel Authority of India (SAIL) recorded an eight percent year-over-year increase in its crude steel output at 4.667 million tonnes (MT). The state-owned steel maker said that from April to June, its hot metal output increased by 7% year over year (y-o-y) to 5.037 MT and its production of saleable steel increased to 4.405 MT, up 8% from the first quarter of the prior 2021–22 fiscal year.
“SAIL has its best-ever first quarter for sales and output. The numbers show an astounding increase, the steel producer claimed in a statement. With sales volume of 3.9 MT and a year-over-year increase of 24%, the firm had its best-ever sales performance in the first quarter. With a capacity of about 20 MT per year, SAIL is one of the top three steel-producing corporations in India.
The largest life insurance company in India, LIC, increased its ownership in SAIL, the largest steel maker controlled by the government, last month. The insurer now owns 8.687 percent more shares in SAIL than before, or 2.01%. The deal was completed in regular business fashion on the open market in a series of payments.
According to the regulatory filing made by LIC, the insurer has boosted its ownership of SAIL from around 27.61 billion equity shares to 35.88 billion equity shares. As a result, LIC’s holding in the paid-up capital of SAIL, which was formerly 6.686 percent, has now grown to 8.687 percent. The average price paid per share in SAIL for the shares was 66.18.
SAIL recorded a consolidated net profit of Rs. 1159.21 crore in the January-March quarter of fiscal 2022–23 as opposed to Rs. 2478.82 crore in the same quarter last year. The business recorded total revenue of Rs. 29416.39 crore for the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2023, down from Rs. 31175.25 crore for the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2022.
“Domestic steel demand” saw a significant increase in FY23, which was encouraging for SAIL. In Q4FY23 and for the whole FY23, apparent steel consumption in India increased by 13% and 14%, respectively, over the previous year. Additionally, the current trend towards a softening in coking coal prices is encouraging for the firm. However, the advantage of lower coking coal prices is expected to take a quarter to materialise because steel companies typically hold a few months’ worth of inventories, according to ICICI Direct on SAIL’s Q4FY23 results.
SAIL’s shares closed at 87.47 per share on July 4 vs an earlier BSE closing of 87.49, a 0.02 percent decline.
