The Hindu Business Line : NMDC posts record turnover

The National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) has achieved a record turnover of Rs 3,534 crore and profit before tax (PBT) of Rs 2,523 crore for the financial year 2005-06. The comparative figures for fiscal 2004-05 were Rs 2,230 crore and Rs 1,224 crore, respectively. The company has paid interim dividends at 76.93 per cent and 115.40 per cent in November 2005 and February 2006, respectively.

According to Government directives, the total dividend payable for the year would be 20 per cent of the PAT. The balance dividend will be paid after the annual general meeting.

Stating this, the Chairman-cum-Managing Director, Mr B. Ramesh Kumar, told newspersons that the company did a record excavation of about 315 lakh tonnes of iron ore, about 245 lakh tonnes of run of mine, and 229 lakh tonnes of lump and fine ore.

To meet the rising domestic demands of iron ore, NMDC has plans to step up its production to 52 million tonnes of iron ore by 2020, said Mr Kumar. This would be achieved by opening new mines in the Bailadila sector (reserve of 104 mt) in Chhattisgarh and in the Kumaraswamy deposits (137 mt) in Karnataka.

Export policy

On the export policy for iron ore, Mr Kumar said the Government has prescribed quantitative ceilings of 3 mt and 3.80 mt for the export of Bailadila lumps and fines, respectively, with a view to catering to the domestic demands that keep increasing with more and more steel plants coming up in the private sector.

He said that NMDC has kept itself well within the ceilings, and the export has been limited to 2.01 mt of Bailadila lumps and 2.52 mt million tonnes of fines.

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