In the first quarter of the financial year 2019-20 ended on June 30, Indian steelmaker Tata Steel produced 4.37 million mt of crude steel, up by 20 percent year on year, while the company’s finished steel sales increased by 15.9 percent to 3.87 million mt compared to the same period in the previous financial year.
Meanwhile, in the given period, Tata Steel’s crude steel production at its European facilities decreased by 5.34 percent to 2.66 million mt, impacted by planned shutdowns and unplanned outages during the quarter, and finished steel sales from its European facilities totaled 2.27 million mt, down 7.3 percent, both on year-on-year basis.
In addition, in the first quarter, Tata Steel’s crude steel output at its Southeast Asian facilities increased by 11.5 percent to 580,000 mt, while its finished steel sales at the Southeast Asian facilities grew by 1.66 percent to 610,000 mt, both compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.
Tata Steel said that the resumption of trade talks between the US and China and the recent national budget announcements in India to resolve some of the liquidity issues are expected to trigger an improvement in business sentiment globally and in India. This is expected to translate into a stronger business performance in the second half of the financial year.