Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (the holding company of Vizag Steel) saw its crude steel production in March rise 17% to 0.43 mnt against 0.37 mnt seen in February despite its third blast furnace being out of service since end-January.
However, it was also learnt that crude steel production was hit by about 8,000 tpd from 28 March till 4 April, 2022 because of the labour union strike. In this period, RINL’s rolling mills were also shut and the PSU operated only a single blast furnace, which impacted production somewhat for eight days till 4 April.
The second blast furnace resumed operations from 5 April night.
Through the better portion of March, however, the PSU had two BFs running at optimal efficiency levels, producing around 15,500 tonnes of hot metal per day with a peak rated capacity of 7,150 tpd. RINL’s three BFs together have a crude steel peak rated capacity of 7.3 mtpa and 7.5 mtpa of hot metal capacity.
Inventory depletion continues
RINL saw an inventory reduction by almost 53% or 0.12 mnt in March, 2022, sustaining the liquidation spree for three months in a row. Closing stock at the beginning of March stood at 0.10 mnt against 0.22 mnt seen in the month-ago period.
The year-end inventory liquidation happened mainly on account of demand from the infrastructure projects segment which has project closure deadlines to meet at the end of the financial year. Rebar and other long products, in which RINL is a major player, play an important role in project construction.
But a source also indicated that had the third furnace been up and running, then, may be, inventory would have been slightly up.
Sales up 39% m-o-m
March sales were up 0.55 mnt against almost 0.40 mnt in February, up 39% m-o-m, driven up by both domestic project segment sales and exports which were up a healthy 53% m-o-m in March.
Exports stood at almost 0.09 mnt in March against a mere 64,984 tonnes seen in February. A key reason for rising billets exports is the vacuum created by the Russia-Ukraine conflict whereby there are no offers from the usually prolific CIS countries.
Outlook
Since the labour strike extended into the first week of April, the current month may see crude steel production impacted marginally.
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