New Delhi: SAIL is ready to move to the next realm of expansion, said its Chairman Soma Mandal, while addressing the steel giant’s 49th Annual General Meeting recently through the virtual platform.
Describing FY '21 as the year of ‘growth and scaling new heights’ for SAIL, Mondal said that SAIL posted its highest ever EBITDA of Rs 13740 crore which was higher by around 23 per cent over CPLY. The factors which helped improve profitability included higher sales of secondary products, sale of iron ore fines, lower usage of other raw materials, improvement in techno-economic parameters, benefit in stores and spares expenses, decreased purchased power rates, reduction in interest charges, higher dividend income and forex exchange gain among others. The Profit Before Tax (PBT) of the company stood highest in the last ten years.
Citing the various challenges faced by SAIL due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the shareholders were informed about the measures taken by the company to counter the impact of this pandemic. Taking proactive actions, the Company reworked its plans and strategies to sustain all round activities. Outlining some of those, she said, SAIL made optimal utilization of the operational facilities instead of operating a greater number of facilities at sub-optimal level.
Along with reduction in cost by reducing consumption level for various inputs, the capital repairs were also preponed wherever feasible. In these trying times, the company maximized sales volumes through potential channels like exports, dispatch to Railways while it reduced cash outflows by reviewing commitments and renegotiating contracts among others.
Mondal added that the Company was a front-runner in partnering the nation in its fight against Covid-19 pandemic. She informed the shareholders about the scaled response activated by SAIL for management of Covid-19 outbreak across all locations of its presence. It may be mentioned here that since inception SAIL has been contributing to nation building by supplying steel ranging from big projects of national significance and strategic importance to smallest of the retail consumers.
