Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) said on Tuesday that it sold 5.7 million tonnes of steel in the first half of FY14, registering a growth of 8 per cent over that in April-September period of FY13.
Saleable steel production registered a growth of 4 per cent at 6.5 million tonnes during the period. This the highest ever H-1 production of saleable steel, a SAIL note said.
There was an increase of 37 per cent in steel exports at 1.9 lakh tonnes achieved in H1 (1.37 lakh tonnes). CS Verma, Chairman of SAIL said the cost saving and sales growth exercises would yield results in the H2.
Rourkela Steel Plant, operational since August, would add around 1 million tonnes of hot metal during the H2. A “cost optimization initiatives”, launched in September, targets saving of around Rs 5,000 crore during the next three years.