Press Information Bureau

Government of India

Ministry of Steel

18-October-2012 15:42 IST

The Union Minister of Steel, Shri Beni Prasad Verma has reviewed the performance of Hindustan Steelworks Construction Ltd., Kolkata (HSCL) and KIOCL for the first half of Financial Year 2012-13 here today. The Secretary, Ministry of Steel, Shri D.R.S. Chaudhary was also present on the occasion. Shri Malay Chatterjee, CMD, KIOCL and in-charge CMD, HSCL appraised the performance of the company and highlighted its significant achievements.

The Minister stressed that HSCL should emphasize on increasing business in the Steel Sector and the overall performance of the company needs to improve further.

During the first half of the year HSCL achieved a turnover of Rs. 530.28 crores which is marginally (1.07%) higher than the turnover in the corresponding period last year. HSCL has earned operational profit of Rs. 28.74 crores during the first half of the year 2012-13 which shows about 11% increase over the operational profit earned during corresponding period last year. The Company has achieved orders of about Rs. 386 crores during the period under review against the target of Rs.922 crore. The company’s future plans include increasing turnover from the Steel sector, capacity building by entering into MOU with Overseas and Indian partners in specialized sectors, taking up open cast mining projects, reorganizing manpower and imparting training for skill development of present employees.

While reviewing the performance of KIOCL, the Steel Minister asked the company to acquire mineral assets and look for materials from alternate sources. Shri Verma expressed concern over the fall of physical and financial performance of the company. He also emphasized on the need for setting up of beneficiation plants to meet the industry requirement.

KIOCL produced 0.716 million tons of pellets against the budgeted target of 1.250 million tons, which is just 57% of target. The company sold 0.565 million tons of pellets against the target of 1.200 million tons, which is 47% of the target sales. The company’s Sales Turnover during first half of the year has been Rs. 545.81 Crore against a target of Rs. 1113.16 Crore. KIOCL has earned cumulative Profit Before Tax of Rs.20.26 crores for the 1st half of 2012-13 as against the budgeted target of Rs.61.69 crores.

The company claims that its performance has been low because of increasingly being exposed to pressure due to non availability of domestic ore after ban on mining activities in Karnataka. In order to tide over the problem, the company is proposing to set up beneficiation and pelletisation plants in Joint Venture with major steel PSUs like SAIL, RINL and NMDC. KIOCL has also made plans to acquire iron ore deposits and it is in the process of conducting due diligence for assets abroad.

The Minister also released a brochure on KIOCL brought out by the company. The booklet details the company’s profile and the activities carried out by the organization in various areas of performance and social responsibility.

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NSK/DB

Photographs of the event are also available on www.pib.nic.in

Performance oversight prompts directives to improve company operations, pursue resource acquisition and joint ventures for beneficiation and capacity. The Steel Minister reviewed HSCL and KIOCL first-half performance, directing HSCL to expand steel-sector business, strengthen overall performance via capacity building, manpower reorganisation and training, and directing KIOCL to acquire mineral assets, pursue alternate sources, and establish beneficiation and pelletisation capacity-including joint ventures with major steel PSUs-to mitigate ore shortages and improve production, sales and profitability.