ROURKELA: Regardless of relatively weak performance in the first and fourth quarters of 2023-24, the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) of SAIL seems all set to end the financial year with a total profit before tax (PBT) of around Rs 600 crore. In FY 2022-23, RSP had reported a PBT of Rs 521 crore.
Reliable sources in SAIL informed that in Q1 of FY 2023-24, RSP had reported a PBT of Rs 80 crore when SAIL’s PBT stood at Rs 200 crore. However, with stabilisation of coking coal prices, positive market outlook and SAIL stressing on debottlenecking and efficiency improvement, RSP’s PBT rose to around Rs 229 crore. SAIL’s PBT also increased to Rs 1,696 crore.
Similarly in Q3, RSP reported a PBT of around Rs 222 crore while SAIL’s PBT stood at Rs 461 crore. In the first nine months of 2023-24, the RSP reported a total PBT of Rs 531 crore against SAIL’s Rs 2,359 crore.
However, financial indications look weak for Q4 as in January and February 2024, RSP reported PBT of Rs 50 crore and Rs 5 crore respectively. If sources are to be believed, RSP is going to end the current month of March with maximum PBT of Rs 10-Rs 14 crore. If that happens, RSP could end 2023-24 with a PBT of Rs 600 crore or close to it, which would be Rs 75-Rs 79 crore higher than the PBT of 2022-23.
General secretary of BMS-affiliated Rourkela Ispat Karkhana Karmachari Sangh HS Bal said apart from weak market prices of RSP products, the prevailing high price of imported coal from Australia have adversely impacted the profit prospect of the steel plant in Q4. Bal said during Q1 and Q4, the production and productivity were good, but net sales realisations were weak due to multiple factors beyond RSP’s control, adding the plant would still make good profit.
Meanwhile on March 14, RSP director-in-charge Atanu Bhowmick discussed the plant’s annual business plan for 2024-25 with members of all trade unions and sought their cooperation. Bhowmick said in order to negate the effect of factors like rising input cost, market surplus and crashing prices, RSP needs to step up efforts to further enhance operational efficiency with special focus for cost-effective production.