After three loss making years, SAIL records profit in 2018-19, expansion on cards
New Delhi, May 31 (UNI) After three consecutive years of losses, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has bounced back into black with net profit after tax of Rs. 2178.92 core in financial year 2018-19 as against a net loss of Rs. 481 crore in 2017-18.
Addressing a press conference here on Friday, SAIL chairman Anil Kumar Chaudhary credited the turn around of the public sector undertaking to the collective work of SAIL in a mission mode. He said the company has set a production target of 17. 5 million tonnes of saleable steel in next year up from the current annual production of 15 million tonnes.
Giving salient features of SAIL's performance, Chaudhary said the PSU registered a turnover of Rs. 66,267 crore in 2018-19 as compared to the turnover of Rs. 58,297 crore in 2017-18. ``We are committed to put SAIL into a higher orbit of performance, aiming higher and putting in greater efforts to ramp-up production from our sophisticated mills while focussing on augmenting production of special and value added steels and niche products,'' he said.
He said that production from new mills of SAIL plants has recorded marked improvement this year, giving an enriched product basket.
He added that a new vertical of logistics and infrastructure set up has been created to smoothly handle the increased despatches from higher level of production. This year, he said, SAIL had recorded the highest ever production of 9.85 lakh tonnes of UTS-90 rail.
Chaudhary said that SAIL was also in talks with Japanese steel companies for collaboration and sounded hopeful of clinching it during the proposed visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Japan in the next few months.
He said that three units -- Bhilai, Jagdishpur and Bettiah -- have already been dedicated to nation over the past one year with expanded capacities. He said that SAIL's market share of 14 per cent would go up to 16 per cent in the next one year or so.
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