SAIL Q2 net at Rs 505 crore

 Turnover in the second quarter in the current financial year stands at Rs 5,647 crore against Rs 3,993 crore of the corresponding period in the previous year.

 SAIL has registered a net profit of Rs 760 crore in the first six months of the current financial year against the loss of Rs 460 crore in the corresponding period last year.

 The company has recorded a 27 per cent increase in turnover, reaching a level of Rs 10,412 crore. Total sales volume grew by 10 per cent to 4.896 million tonne between April and September, 2003-04 from 4.467 million tonnes in the corresponding period in 2002-03.

 Exports were higher by 114 per cent in the first half of 2003-04. Exports in term of value reached Rs 800 crore in the first six months of the financial year against Rs 323 crore in the corresponding last year. The company is targeting steel exports worth 1 million tonnes by the end of 2003-04.

 Chairman V S Jain did not comment on whether steel prices were likely to increase in wake of the growing demand, both in the domestic as well as the international markets.

 SAIL is currently working on a Rs 120 crore project involving rebuilding of the coke oven in Rourkela.