New Delhi, April 10: Tata Steel today said it has achieved its best-ever annual output and sales during fiscal year 2012-13 on the back of record hot metal and crude production at 8.85 million tonnes (MT) and 8.13 MT, respectively.
While production of hot metal and crude grew by an impressive 14 per cent each during the year over a year-ago period, saleable steel saw a 14 per cent growth to 7.94 MT in the last financial year.
Sales too registered an impressive 13 per cent increase to 7.48 MT in the last fiscal year, buoyed mainly by over 20 per cent rise in sales to automotive sector.
"Tata Steel completed FY13 with an overall increase in production and sales volumes. The year registered its best ever performance in hot metal, crude steel production and total sales," the domestic steel giant said in a statement.
The company's hot, crude and saleable steel production stood at 7.75 MT. 7.13 MT and 6.97 MT, respectively, in 2011-12.
The company which had sold 6.63 MT of total products in 2011-12, undertook sales of record 4.49 MT flat products used in the automotive sector, and highest ever 2.99 MT of long products used in construction, it said in a statement.
The growth in sale of flat products was up 20.2 per cent over 2011-12, but it rose only marginally in the case of long products. It had sold 2.89 MT of long products in FY11.
Tata Steel also said its flat product division "achieved its highest ever annual high-end product sales at 190 kilotonnes (KT) to auto customers and best ever annual steel roofing sales volume of 261 KT" in the last fiscal.
The company said major highlights in FY13 include highest ever iron ore dispatch of 15 MT (previous best 13.18 MT in FY12) from its ore mines and quarries besides record 2.33 MT clean coal production from its West Bokaro collieries in Jharkhand.
While Jamshedpur and Haldia saw best ever coke production at a cumulative 3.7 MT, the company's steel melting shop LD 1 and new bar mill also achieved their best ever production at 3.18 MT and 0.8 MT, respectively, it said.
Record production was also achieved at its cold rolling mill, wire rod mill and merchant mill.
The company sold 2.26 MT of steel in the final quarter of 2012-13, registering a growth of 27 per cent over 1.77 MT in the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal year.
Its hot metal production during the fourth quarter of 2012-13 grew by 25 per cent to 2.45 MT over 1.95 MT in the corresponding year-ago period.
Crude steel output during the quarter rose by 26 per cent to 2.29 MT against 1.83 MT in the last quarter of 2011-12.
Tata Steel shares were trading at Rs. 302.40 apiece at 2:00 p.m. on the Bombay Stock Exchange, down 0.67 per cent in the afternoon trade.
