The Tinplate Company of India Ltd (TCIL), a subsidiary of Tata Steel, said on Thursday that it will focus on the domestic market as volatility remains in the global markets.
"We always have balanced between domestic sales and exports. International prices are down and global demand is not as steady as it used to be. As a conscious strategy we want to focus more on domestic market," said company Chairman Kaushik Chatterjee after the 97th Annual General Meeting here.
Still, the company which manufactures electrolytic tinplates, tin-free steel sheets and full hard cold rolled sheets (FHCR) used for metal packaging, expects the growth in the domestic sales will remain flattish this year and will focus on metal packaging, he said.
"....(in 2015-16) there was no improvement in tinplate consumption in the domestic market, the company has been able to increase domestic sales volume through effective customer engagement and supply chain management," he told shareholders in the meeting.
The company said the British decision to leave the European Union will not have any effect on it as it does not export to Britain.
The company exports around 20 percent of its production to South East Asia, West Asia and Europe while the rest is sold in the domestic market.
During the last fiscal, the company was forced to reduce exports due to dumping from China in many international markets on account of its excess steel capacity and currency devaluation, Chatterjee said in its annual report.
"We will continue exports as there are strategic customers in the exports market, we will continue to service them," he said.
Net sales reflect a marginal decline on account of lower exports due to sharp decline in the international prices, said the report.
Net sales in the last fiscal fell to Rs 833.85 crore as compared to Rs 911.16 crore in the previous year. It posted a net profit Rs 73.38 crore in 2015-16.
Company's annual capital expenditure stood at Rs 35 crore. "Last year, we did not have any capacity expansion. It (Capital expenditure) will be range-bound so long we don't take another big project. At this point of time, the company is looking at consolidating its position," Chatterjee said.
"We all feel that the minimum import price (MIP) imposed on some category steel products should be extended (beyond August). MIP hasAmade a positive impact... industry needs that support from the government against unfair priced imports that come into the country," he said when asked whether the government should continue with the anti-imports measure to curb steel imports into the country or not.
--IANS
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