Indian government-run pellet producer KIOCL has shut down its 3 million mt per year capacity plant citing poor demand conditions, company sources said on Monday, February 26.
The pellet producer frequently resorts to plant shutdowns due to shortage of iron ore fines as raw material and poor offtake by domestic steel mills.
Despite such frequent shutdowns, KIOCL was able to report a net profit of INR 390 million ($4.69 million) in the third quarter (October-December) of the fiscal year 2023-24, marking a turnaround from a loss of INR 338.80 million ($4.08 million) in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.