SAIL hits record 8.39 MT steel production in H1, September sales up 4%

New Delhi ( Raghwendra Pratap Singh) :

Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) reported record production and sales in the first half of FY27, with hot metal output rising 2 percent year-on-year to 10.2 million tonnes and crude steel increasing 1 percent to 9.6 MT.For the April-September period, the state-owned company’s finished steel production stood at 8.39 MT, a 1 percent growth over last year.

The record output by India’ largest state-owned steelmaker’s comes on the back of rising demand, with India’s finished steel consumption rising 7.4 percent on-year to 70.5 MT in April-August. The demand has been supported by infrastructure, construction and manufacturing activity, while post-monsoon construction is also helping in the rising demand.

Iron ore production and sales also touched new high, with production rising 13 percent and sales surging 190 percent to 2.671 million tonnes. During the period, the dispatches to Indian Railways for long rails and wheels and axles grew 7 percent and 3 percent, respectively, over last year.

On the techno-economic front, specific energy consumption improved to 6.17 G.Cal/tcs, marking the best-ever H1 performance with a 0.5 percent gain, the company said. In the first half of FY27, the company achieved inventory reduction of about 0.145 MT and borrowing reduction of approximately Rs 1,080 crore.

In September 2026, concerted marketing focus and efficiency enhancements yielded strong results, with SAIL achieving its best-ever September saleable steel sales of 1.69 MT, a 4 percent growth over the corresponding period of last year,” the company said.

The percentage of finished steel production in total saleable steel production improved to 92 percent, compared to 89 percent in September 2025. The fuel rate improved to 551 kg/thm, its best-ever September performance with a 1 percent improvement.

Iron ore production in September also grew 8 percent from the year-ago period, while iron ore sales surged to 0.492 MT, marking a record September with 134 percent growth over last year.The company also achieved inventory reduction of about 0.192 MT and borrowing reduction of approximately Rs 208 crore during the month.