State-run Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) will spend about Rs 14,500 crore on capital expenditure in the next fiscal year, up 15% from the current year, adding 5 million tonne of capacity, its chairman said.
The company's annual production capacity is expected to rise to 19 million tonne by the end of the fiscal year that starts in April, Chairman CS Verma said at the Global Steel 2012 Conference on Friday.
SAIL, the country's largest domestic steelmaker, expects local demand for steel to grow 7% in the fiscal year to end March 2012, with prices remaining stable.
"We will revise steel prices once coking coal prices stabilises," said Verma. The company raised prices by 15-20% after coking coal prices trebled in the current fiscal year, he added.
Margins at India's top steelmakers have been under pressure during the December-quarter because of slowing investments by end-user industries, higher interest costs and foreign exchange losses on import of raw materials.
