Mumbai, June 24: Tata Steel today said it plans to increase its auto steel sales by 20 per cent to 1.2 million tonnes by end-this fiscal as the Indian automobile industry is growing at a fast pace.
“We plan to increase our auto steel sales by 20 per cent to 1.2 million tonnes from the present 1 million metric tonnes by end-this fiscal,” Tata Steel Managing Director H M Nerurkar told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.
Asked about the possibility of a hike in steel prices, he said, “we have not decided anything yet. I can say it is a challenging time for steel companies at every scenario.” Tata Steel Group Chief Financial Officer Koushik Chatterjee said the company's net debt stood USD 9.5 billion after selling its stake in Riversdale Mining.
“Tata Steel's net debt stood at USD 9.5 billion after selling stake in Riversdale Mining and they have around USD 3 billion in cash,” Chatterjee said.
The domestic steel giant sold its 26.27 per cent stake in Australian coal miner Riversdale to global mining major Rio Tinto for Australian dollar 1.06 billion.
The sale consideration of approximately Rs 5,074 crore represents around 100 per cent appreciation of value in less than four years since the first investment. Meanwhile, Tata Steel has been named in Fortune magazine's 2011 list of world's most admired companies. It has been ranked sixth in the industry-metals category.
“At Tata Steel, it is our constant endeavour to improve upon key areas like innovation, talent management and community development in order to maintain our position as one of the most sustainable companies globally,” Nerurkar said after receiving a trophy for the ranking at a function.
Tata Steel is the the only company from India to have figured in the prestigious list in the industry-metals category.
The survey was conducted amongst Fortune 1,000 companies, non-US global 500 companies with revenues of USD 10 billion or more and top foreign firms operating in America.
More than 673 companies from 32 countries, covering 57 industries, were surveyed.
The annual survey - conducted by Fortune magazine and Hay Group, a global management consulting firm, is given to top executives, directors and financial analysts to identify the companies that enjoy the strongest reputations within their industries and across industries. PTI
