SAIL H1 sales up by over 4 pc to 5.6 MT on improved demand

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Steel Authority of India is set to report over 4 cent growth in its half-yearly sales to around 5.6 million tonnes on improved domestic demand across sectors, a source privy to the development said.

"SAIL had better sales in the first half. In the first half, it has sold around 5.6 million tonnes of steel. This is an over 4 per cent increase compared to the corresponding period last fiscal," the source said.

The Maharatna company had reported sales of 5.378 million tonnes for the April-September period last fiscal.

In the first quarter of the current fiscal, it sold 2.75 million tonnes of steel, an 18 per cent increase vis-a-vis the same period last fiscal.

The source said sales of the company did well across sectors during the period, including an almost 100 per cent growth in sales of auto grade steel.

"Sales of special quality grades in flat products were up 8 per cent over the corresponding period last year. Around 17 per cent growth was recorded in the LPG grade," he said.

Sales of long rails to the Indian Railways were up by 8,604 tonnes and 5 per cent growth was recorded in overall supply to the railways and defence sectors in the first half.

"With a focus on servicing requirements of end-consumers, supplies to actual customers increased by almost eight lakh tonnes during the first half over the corresponding period last year," he said.

Exports of steel by SAIL were also up during the first half by 77.5 per cent to 1.81 lakh tonnes, compared to 1.02 million tonnes in the April-September period last fiscal.

Tata Steel had earlier reported that its total sales in the first half of the fiscal increased to 3.241 million tonnes from 3.064 million tonnes a year ago.

Plans to set up rail coach factory in West Bengal

State-owned steel major SAIL is planning to set up a coach manufacturing unit in a joint venture with the Railways in West Bengal's Kanchrapara.

"SAIL is in talks with Railways for setting up a coach factory in West Bengal. It will be like the joint venture (the company has with RITES) for wagon manufacturing unit in Kulti," Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma told PTI.

He added that the coach factory is proposed to be set up in Kanchrapara district of the state and the steel major has held several rounds of discussion with Railway Board officials since September.

The Steel Minister, however, did not comment on the proposed investment and the capacity of the rail coach factory.

"A joint team has been formed by the Railways and SAIL to explore the possibilities, including manufacturing metro coaches and entering railway track laying," the minister said.

According to a senior SAIL official, the company is in talks with a few leading European rail technology companies manufacturing of coaches for metro trains.

The official added that SAIL chairman C S Verma had also met the West Bengal Chief Minister and former Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee last month for the coach factory.

He, however, refused to comment on the proposed investment and capacity of the coach factory. "It is still in early stages and a proper strategy is to be evolved first," he said.