SAIL news: Crude steel output at SAIL rises to record high of 18.29 MT in FY23

State-run Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) on Saturday said crude steel production jumped to an all-time high of 18.29 million tonnes (mt) in the year to March 31, 2023, registering a year-on-year growth of over 5%. Production of hot metal touched 19.41 mt during the year.

The company had produced 13.34 mt and sold 12.55 mt of steel as on December 2022. Of this, more than half was flat products, about a third was long products, and the rest were semis.

Nearly 53% of its sales were for value-added products, while the rest was commodity.

“The company is continuously ramping up its production over the years with a focus on more value added and special steel production,” SAIL said in a statement on Saturday.

SAIL is among the largest producers of steel in India with a capacity to produce 19 mt of steel annually. It produces steel through its five integrated and three special steel plants in the country.

Its steel production is already close to its full capacity, and the company is working on de-bottlenecking capacities at its existing plants.

“With that, we will try to probably increase the capacity by another 3 mt in the coming 3-4 years,” director (finance) Anil Tulsiani told analysts in a call after its third quarter earnings.The company is looking at expanding its capacity by 12-13 mt by 2030-31, he said.

Most of its peers, including Tata Steel, JSW Steel and AMNS India, have already raised their production capacity in the recent years, or have their capital expenditure plans underway. The consumption of steel is likely to have grown over more than 11% in FY23, and is estimated to grow 7-8% YoY, ICRA said.