FY21 a year of growth, says SAIL Chairperson

Describing FY21 as the year of ‘growth and scaling newer heights’,  SAIL Chairperson Soma Mondal said the company posted its highest ever EBITDA of Rs 13,740 crore which was higher by  about 23 per cent over CPLY.

Addressing the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of SAIL on September 28 through a virtual platform, she underlined some of the important events/highlights of SAIL for the company’s shareholders.

According to Mondal, the factors which helped improve the profitability included higher sales of secondary products, sale of iron ore fines, lower usage of other raw material, improvement in techno-economic parameters, benefit in stores and spares expenses, decreased purchased power rates, reduction in interest charges, higher dividend income and forex exchange gain among others.

She said the profit before tax (PBT) of the company stood highest in the last ten years. The company’s borrowings came down to Rs 35,350 crore with a reduction of more than Rs 16,000 crore consequently improving the debt-equity ratio to 0.87 on 31.03.2021 vis-à-vis 1.36 as on 31.03.2020.

Citing the various challenges faced by the company due to the ongoing COVID19 pandemic, the shareholders were informed about the measures taken by SAIL to counter the impact of the pandemic.

She said not only did the company focus on continuing its operations with minimum disruptions, but it also ensured this was achieved without compromising the safety of employees and population in the nearby areas.

The shareholders were informed about the regular initiatives being taken by SAIL to increase its presence in different areas by targeting defined market segments. The company is also expanding the Tier-2 and Tier-1 distribution network across the country to strengthen its retail presence, they were told.