Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) announced its financial results for the fourth quarter of the Financial Year2017-18 (Q4 FY18) and for FY18. After returning to profits in Q3 FY18, the Company in Q4 FY18 recorded a net profit of Rs.816 Crore reaffirming SAIL’s positive performance. This comes after making a provision of Rs.582 Crore towards enhanced gratuity recently approved by Government of India. All the five integrated steel plants of the Company have also recorded individual profits in Q4 FY18. SAIL management’s sustained efforts for process integration starting from production till reaching the customers, the intensive marketing efforts along with ramping up of production and stabilization of new mills are all yielding results and a novel end-to-end approach with its new product offerings is helping the Company achieve a stronger position.
Company’s Net Turnover in Q4FY18 of Rs. 16,811 Crore saw an increase of 34% over CPLY. The Q4FY18 EBITDA at Rs.2,624Crore, a humongous growth over Q4 FY17, is highest in the last twenty-seven quarters. The EBITDA per tonne of sales for Q4 FY 18 is Rs.7020. The total sales volume in Q4 FY18 was 3.738 Million Tonnes (MT) which increased by 8.4% over CPLY.
Slimming the losses by around 83% in FY18, the Profit AfterTax on standalone basis improved to Rs. (-) 482Crore from Rs. (-) 2,833 Crore in FY17. The consolidated profit after tax of the Company stood at Rs.(-) 281 Crore for FY18 as against Rs.(-) 2,756 in CPLY. The strategic and persistent approach to improve operational profitability assisted SAIL to stay EBIDTA positive in FY 18; recorded at Rs.5,184 Crore. The Company registered highest sales volume for the year in FY18 at 14.08 MT which is higher by 7.4% over CPLY.
SAIL’s performance on the production front recorded highest ever quarterly crude steel production of around 4.0 MT in Q4 FY18 with a growth of 6% over CPLY. In Q4 FY18, highest quarterly Concast production of 3.406 MT with a growth of 8% over CPLY was also recorded. In the same quarter, the best ever quarterly Coke Rate recorded a reduction of 3% over CPLY, BF productivity was higher by 4% over CPLY and Specific Energy Consumption improved to 6.38 Gcal/tcs, lower by 2% as compared to CPLY.
On this occasion, Chairman, SAIL, PK Singh said that, the effect of synergised teamwork across SAIL, integration of every process and continual focus to service the customers with world-class products is finally beginning to show. He added “SAIL, which has almost finished its modernization and expansion, is ready with an array of value-added products which are tailored for today’s requirements. The domestic market is showing very good growth signs, which is backed up strongly by the Government’s initiative to enhance domestic steel consumption. The on-going and upcoming large infrastructure projects offer large scope for steel consumption.” Singh also added that new mills in SAIL are offering products for every segment and the new marketing initiatives of the Company are not only exploring new markets but also reaching out to people in far-flung areas of the Country to raise awareness about steel usage. This will also help SAIL to actively contribute towards the targets envisaged in National Steel Policy. He further said, “SAIL’s array of new products will befit the demands of retail, rural as well as larger projects. The Company is poised to march ahead on the growth path and is enabled to explore the positive demand sentiments.”
