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Buoyed by the market conditions and growing demand from the steel sector, NMDC Ltd is upbeat on business prospects and expects about 20 per cent growth this fiscal over last year.
The state-owned mining major is planning to deploy a capex of about Rs 3,000 crore this fiscal in capacity expansion and for deployment in Nagarnar Steel.
N Baijendra Kumar, Chairman and Managing Director, NMDC, said, “NMDC achieved record iron ore production of 34 mt and sales of 35.6 mt during 2016-17, which was 19 per cent and 24 per cent higher year-on-year. The turnover at Rs 8,830 crore was 37 per cent higher than in 2015-16. Net worth of the company was at Rs 22,519 crore as on March 31, 2017.”
“We expect to sustain the growth during the current financial year. As of August 2017, NMDC production and sales values were higher by 13 per cent and 16 per cent over the previous year for a similar period. The price trend for the current period up to August 2017 is stable and upward as compared to the previous year,” he said.
Speaking at the 59th AGM of the mining company and later interacting on the sidelines, the newly appointed CMD said, “To meet the growing requirement for iron ore by the Indian steel industry, NMDC plans to increase its production capacity to 67 mt per annum by 2021-2022.”
The strategy focuses on growth, largely through brown-field expansion of existing mines and improving evacuation along with it.
He said development of a greenfield mine at Deposit 13 has also been planned in joint venture with Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corporation, for which a mining lease has been executed.
NMDC is in the process of finalising a strategy for divestment of Nagarnar Steel Plant, coming up at Bastar in Chhattisgarh. About Rs 12,559 crore has been spent on the 3 million tonne per annum steel plant so far and it is preparing to start operations.
Consultants for transaction advisory, legal advisors and others for the divestment process have been appointed and soon a decision will be taken by the company, then put up with the Steel Ministry and then to the Cabinet for a final decision on the process, he said.
The company said a 2 MTPA pellet plant is also being set up and the process for obtaining statutory clearances for phase one of the work is at an advanced stage.
During the AGM some shareholders raised issues about divestment, buyback of shares and demanded higher dividend.
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