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Addressing the shareholders of Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) on Company’s 48th Annual General Meeting held on Thursday, Anil Kumar Chaudhary, Chairman, SAIL mentioned that we all are aware that COVID-19 Pandemic has impacted SAIL just as it has impacted every corporate across the country. He also highlighted how SAIL has activated a scaled response for management of COVID-19 outbreak at Plants/Units and Townships.

While fighting with the COVID-19 Pandemic on one hand, the Company ensured that the production continued in the Company in line with the market demand while making use of the time available to carry out planned repairs by preponing them from the original schedule.

He said that the financial year 2019-20 has been the year of sustaining profitability. Despite challenging market conditions which saw the average Net Sales Realisation (NSR) decline by 12% over the previous year, the determined efforts and strategic initiatives taken by SAIL saw the EBITDA in FY’20 rise by 9% to Rs. 11,199 crore, as against Rs. 10,283 Crore in FY’19. However, due to higher depreciation and finance cost, the Profit after Tax (PAT) on standalone basis came down to Rs. 2,022 crore in FY’20 as against Rs. 2178 crore in the previous year FY’19. On a consolidated basis, the Profit after Tax stood at Rs. 2,121 crore for FY’20 as against Rs. 2348
crore in FY’19.

The Company’s improvement in financial performance was based upon the improvement in operational areas. Some of the highlights were:

• Highest producer of crude steel in the Country by producing 16.155 MT

• Best ever Saleable Steel production as well as sales volumes at 15.083 MT and 14.231 MT respectively

• Rails crossed the 1 Million Tonne mark for the first time. The production at 12.85 lakh tonne, the best ever, showed a growth of 30% over previous year.

• Company became the largest miner for steel making input minerals in the Country by mining 32.41 MT of total minerals.

• With quantum jump, SAIL achieved its highest ever exports at 1.18 MT during the FY 2019-20 with substantial growth of over 54% over the previous year.

SAIL has proudly associated itself with India’s economic and industrial progress and development by contributing to important and strategic sectors like Defence, Railways, Metro, Infrastructure, Space, Power, Manufacturing, Irrigation, etc. through effecting supplies to prestigious projects such as Indian’s first and the biggest indigenous artillery gun “Dhanush”, Chandrayaan-2, Mangalyaan, Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal Broad Gauge Railway Project, Manipur (World’s tallest girder Railway bridge), AnjiKhad Cable Stayed Bridge Project, J&K, Chardham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojna, Rawatbhata and Kakrapara Atomic Power Plant, other Power Projects like Neyvile Lignite Power Plant at Ghatampur in UP, NTPC Patratu Power Plant in Jharkhand, Chausa Thermal Power Plant in Bihar, Yadadari Power Plant in Telengana and Ennore Power Plant in Tamil Naidu, Western Dedicated Freight Corridor, etc. The latest feather in its cap has been the supply of majority of steel for the strategically important “Atal Tunnel”.

Chaudhary highlighted that SAIL has always been a part of the Government led initiatives like Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, Prime Minister Jan Arogaya Yojana (PMJAY), Prime Minister Awas Yojana (PMAY), Skill India, Ban on Single Use Plastic, Mission Purvodaya, etc. He also emphasized SAIL’s concern for the environment with planting of more than 4.44 lakh saplings during the FY 2019-20, taking the cumulative plantation by SAIL to 21.04 million since inception.

In the wake of severe impact on economy of the Country during the COVID-19 Pandemic, SAIL has been the frontrunner in taking forward the initiative of making India prosper through self-reliance viz., ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ and ‘Vocal for Local’.

He further added that, “During FY19 SAIL produced new grades of steel like Superior Performance rails namely R-260 grade and wheels for high speed LHB coaches for Indian Railways; Special quality steel complying to the requirement of Country’s Defence Forces for use in armour plates, gun carriage, ammunition testing and bullet proof applications; API X-70 steel grade for pipe in Oil and Gas Sector; and High tensile, fire resistant, weather resistant structural steel and seismic grade TMT Bars for Construction & Infrastructure Sector”.