Tata Steel India Production Surged 4.7% Amidst Falling Sales

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Tata Steel India operations reported increased production during the second quarter of the current fiscal. However, the sales volume declined in comparison with the previous year.

The production surged higher by 4.7% year-on-year to total 4.50 million tonnes in 2QFY20. The jump in production volume was mainly on account of boosted production at recently acquired Tata Steel Bhushan Steel. When compared with the prior quarter, the production remained flat. The quarterly sales plunged by 4.16% from the year-ago quarter to total 4.14 million tonnes.

The global uncertainties on account of ongoing U.S.-China trade war coupled with low investment sentiment and sharp decline in automotive demand in India affected the business. Tata Steel looks forward to notable pick up in domestic steel demand, with the advent of festive season.

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The Tata Steel Europe production and sales remained more or less flat compared to the previous year. The quarterly production totalled 2.46 million tonnes, down by nearly 7% from the prior quarter. Sales too remained sluggish. The weak performance was mainly due to weaker market conditions, planned shutdowns during summer and unplanned outages at several facilities, the company noted.

Meantime, Tata Steel Southeast Asia production stood at 0.57 million tonnes, marginally higher compared to 0.54 million tonnes in 2QFY19. The regional sales volume declined from 0.65 million tonnes in second quarter last fiscal to 0.61 million tonnes in 2QFY20.