Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd (NINL), a public sector steel producer where trading major MMTC owns the largest stake, has recorded 81% rise in its production in the July-September quarter (Q2) of this fiscal.
During this period, the NINL steel factory at Kalinganagar, the steel hub in the eastern state of Odisha, rolled out 2.23 lakh tonnes of hot metal and 1.98 lakh tonnes of pig iron. The steel company’s September figures are also the best since it commenced commercial operations. NINL produced 75535 tonnes of hot metal and 63550 tonnes of pig iron.
Historically, NINL has been one of the leading producers cum exporters of pig iron. Post its blast furnace capital repair work, the steel PSU has accelerated its hot metal output, producing at the rate of about 3000 tonnes per day.
SS Mohanty, vice chairman & managing director at NINL said the company is working diligently to prune costs and reduce cost of metal production so as to maximise gains on Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation). The company turned Ebitda positive in this fiscal spurred by profitable pig iron sales and is staring at the possibility of net profit after the commencement of its mining operations.
With a focus on value addition, NINL has targeted to churn out billets and value added products such as TMT bars and wire rods towards October-November this year. NINL will accord its brand name to these products meant to be produced via a conversion process.
The steel firm is also fast-trackin the process to start mining from its captive iron ore block at Koira with embedded deposits of 110 million tonnes. NINL has initiated the process to select a Mine Developer Cum Operator (MDO) for the mines operations. The company hopes it will be a game changer when the steel plant is fed by the captive mines. Presently, NINL was sourcing iron ore from the open market through MMTC. As per an arrangement, MMTC levied three percent commission charges to arrange the iron ore for the steel project.
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