Tata Steel’s domestic sales up 9.4% to 2.06 million tonnes in Q3

Private sector steel major Tata Steel has reported a 9.4 per cent increase in sales volumes to 2.06 million tonnes from its Indian operations in the October-December quarter.

The company had reported sales of 1.88 million tonnes in the corresponding quarter a year earlier.

Production of saleable steel during the quarter rose 3.9 per cent to 2.15 million tonnes from 2.06 million tonnes.

"Flat product saleable steel production was best ever in Q3 at 1.48 million tonnes (previous best 1.46 million tonnes in Q4 FY'13)," Tata Steel said.

Flat products such as hot-rolled coil and cold-rolled coil are used in automotive, heavy machinery, pipes and tubes, packaging and appliances sectors.

The company's hot metal production increased 1.6 per cent to 2.31 million tonnes during the quarter. Crude steel output rose 3.7 per cent to 2.16 million tonnes.

Tata Steel had reported sales volumes of 2.03 million tonnes and production of 2.2 million tonnes of saleable steel during the second quarter of this financial year.

Sales during the April-December period stood at 6.1 million tonnes while production of saleable steel during this period was 6.5 million tonnes.

Tata Steel also today announced the opening of the UK's largest cutting centre for steel plates at its West Midlands base.

The new £3.1-million profiling centre at Steelpark in Waynesfield will increase its plate processing capacity in the region by up to 50 per cent, Tata Steel said.

The facility cuts and finishes steel plates to exact size, shape and quality specifications, providing a range of benefits to customers.

''The new centre has the capability to transform steel plate into a multitude of shaped and machined components, from high-volume production runs for off-road vehicle wheels and booms for earth-moving equipment, to large one-off components for construction projects and specialist engineering applications,'' the company said in a release.