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In view of the excellent performance by the public Sector Companies under the Ministry of Steel , a commitment has been received regarding payment of interim dividend during 2004-05 as well as return of equity in some cases to the extent of Rs.895 crores by 31st January 2005. Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has promised an interim dividend of Rs.497 crores while Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited (KIOCL) will be returning equity of Rs. 314 crores. This is the largest ever contribution by the Ministry of Steel to the Central Exchequer in any particular year.
The total production of finished steel April-October 2004 has been provisionally estimated to be about 217.00 lakh tonnes as against the production of 209.55 lakh tonnes during the same period last year showing an increase of 3.6 per cent. The apparent consumption of finished steel during first half of the current financial year was 188.50 lakh tonnes, higher by 5.6 per cent as compared to 178.50 lakh tonnes for the corresponding period last year. The export of steel during the period has been estimated to be 22.50 lakh tonnes showing a decrease of 26.03 per cent as compared to the corresponding period last year . The decrease in exports is largely due to increase in domestic demand, suspension of DEPB scheme for some time this year and emphasis by the Public Sector Units on giving first priority to meeting domestic demand before carrying out exports. SAIL has declared highest ever net profit of Rs.2625 crore for the first half year during 2004-05. This is an increase of approximately 245 per cent over the performance during the same period last year. Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) has also registered an impressive performance with a half yearly net profit of Rs.926.8 crores, which is 99 per cent higher than the performance during the same period last year.
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