SAIL targets capex of Rs 12,000 crore in FY13; shareholders approve buyback of shares
Steel Authority of India has planned capital expenditure of Rs 12,000 crore for FY 13 for improving production and technology, the Maharatna company said on Friday after the 40th Annual General Meeting (AGM). The steel major had earlier incurred a capex of Rs 11,021 in FY12.
“SAIL has taken various initiatives in optimizing operations, better value addition in downstream units, reducing coke consumption by enhancing alternate fuels like Coal Dust Injection in blast furnaces etc”, said Mr C.S. Verma, Chairman of SAIL said.
SAIL has also allocated Rs 72,000 cr for its modernization and expansion program. It recently completed building two new facilities each in the IISCO steel plant, the Rourkela steel plant and one facility at the Bhilai steel plant. It is further looking to finish major chunk of its modernization in the current fiscal.
Meanwhile, shareholders have approved of a buyback of shares and other forms of securities. Payment of 20 per cent of total dividend for the year FY’12 was also approved in the meet.
SAIL is also looking to enhance its power capacity to 1800 MW from the current capacity of 1000 MW by setting up two 250 MW power plants in Bhilai and one power plant of the same capacity in Rourkela , it said in a press statement. For this purpose, NSPCL, a joint venture of SAIL and NTPC, is preparing a Feasibility Report.
The steel major recently achieved record sales turnover of Rs 50,348 crore in 2011-12 with a growth of 7 per cent on year on year basis.
According to Mr Verma, the steel sector is likely to growth more on account of increased infrastructure investment and higher pace of urbanization, despite a slowdown in the Indian and world economy.
“In terms of per capita consumption of finished steel, India at 57 kg lags behind the world average of 214.7 kg, indicating a huge potential for growth”, he said.