NMDC’s iron ore production, sales inch down in first 6 months of FY’23

NMDC, India’s largest iron ore miner, saw total production and sales edging lower in the first six months (April-September 2022) of the current Financial Year (FY’23) compared to the same period last fiscal.

Production falls 9%

• Production declined by 9% to 16.18 million tonnes (mnt) in April-September as against 17.71 mnt in the year-ago period.
• State-wise production also decreased. In Chhattisgarh, production fell by 4.4% to 11.27 mnt in the first six-month of this financial year as against 11.80 mnt in the same period last year, while in Karnataka total production moved down by 17% to 4.91 mnt as against 5.91 mnt in the same period last year.

Sales fall around 12%

• The miner saw its sales declining by 11.6% to 16.36 mnt in the first six months of the current fiscal against 18.50 mnt in the year-ago period.
• In Chhattisgarh, sales fell by 13.6% to 11.45 mnt during the period against 13.25 mnt in the same period last year, while in Karnataka sales dropped by 6.5% to 4.91 mnt against 5.25 mnt in April-September 2021.

During the monsoon season, the company’s production and sales were affected. However, iron ore sales in Karnataka dropped to their lowest level in over two years to a little under 1 mnt in June due largely to the confusion surrounding sales and dispatches following the Supreme Court’s verdict in late May that lifted curbs on exports as well as restrictions on sales of iron ore that had been in place for over a decade.

Monthly production rise by 10% to 2.73 mnt in September compared to 2.48 mnt in August and sales inched up by 3% to 2.91 mnt in September against 2.83 mnt in August.

Post monsoon, production and rake movements both attained normalcy which led to the m-o-m rise in sales and output. However, buyers are waiting for NMDC’s price revision due later this month.