JSW Steel today reported 39% jump in crude steel production for January at 805,000 tonne, largely due to better capacity utilisation at its Vijayanagar plant in Karnataka.
The company had produced 580,000 tonne of steel in January, 2011, it said in a statement.
Stating that the Karnataka plant is producing steel above 80% levels since last December, a senior company official said, "Supplies of auctioned iron ore have improved and this has led to better utilisation of all the four blast furnaces at the Vijayanagar plant in last two months (December-January)."
In January, flat steel production went up by 29% to 595,000 tonne, compared to 462,000 tonne of the corresponding month of last fiscal. Output of the long product stood at 151,000 tonne during the month, up 65% from January, 2011.
The official further said that the company's production levels have now stabilised and it has "almost" come out of the crisis, due to improved supplies of the iron ore.
The Sajjan Jindal-led company had cut down its production levels by up to 70% in the second half of the last year due to iron ore crunch in Karnataka, following a Supreme Court ban on mining in the state.
However, it had reported a rise of 19% in production levels for the October-December quarter to 193,900 tonne, when the iron ore supplies started improving.
Long steel products are mainly used in construction while flat products are used in automobiles, white goods etc.
Shares of the company were up by 4.02% at Rs 789 apiece on the BSE in the afternoon trade.
