Indian state-owned steelmaker Steel Authority of
India Limited (
SAIL) has announced that it achieved total finished steel sales of 1.14 million mt in January this year, up 10 percent compared to the same month of the previous year, notwithstanding a continuing slowdown in the steel market.
According to
SAIL, the upsurge in sales has been a result of efforts made by the company towards producing tailor-made steel to meet customer requirements. The plants and units of
SAIL kept pace with this aggressive sales strategy by increasing
production of finished steel by four percent year on year in the April 2013-January 2014 period to 10.74 million mt. During April 2013-January 2014,
SAIL's finished steel sales increased by eight percent year on year to 9.84 million mt, supported by exports.
"The uptrend in the first month of 2014 is a firm indicator of the times to come. We are confident of maintaining the momentum in sales growth, which will be supported by
production of a better and wider range of products like universal beam, wire rods and wider plates from the new state-of-the-art facilities coming up in phases." said
SAIL chairman C.S.Verma.