Tata Steel sales up 18 per cent in 2009-10

Tata Steel on Monday said its sales grew by 18 per cent to 6.1 million tonnes in 2009-10, compared to 5.2 million tonne in the previous fiscal.

The production of saleable steel was higher by 20 per cent at 6.4 million tonne during the year against 5.3 million tonne produced in the previous fiscal, the company said in a statement from Kolkata.

Tata Steel managing director H M Nerurkar said margins were under pressure and would remain so in the coming year due to expected sharp rise in input cost and oversupply in the global market.

The company's capacity in Indian operations, restricted in Jamshedpur at 7 million tonne, would be ramped up to 10 million tonne.

Speaking about Chattisgarh and Jamshepur, Nerurkar said work was not progressing, but it could not be said that the projects had been dropped. He added that unless a proper relief and rehabilitation policy was in place, the company was not in favour of moving aggressively with land acquisition in Jharkhand, though there was no resistance to it.

Nerurkar said the company was still in difficulty over its Orissa project as some 300 displaced families were yet to be rehabilitated.