On the prices front, the survey noted that, firms were also helped by a lack of inflationary pressures in the sector.

Photo Credit : Reuters,

Plans of private sector steel major JSW Steel to scale up the capacity of its flagship integrated steel plant at Vijayanagar in Karnataka to 18 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) will be taken up only after 2020, an official said.

The Vijayanagar plant currently has a 12 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) capacity.

The company will first execute the expansion of its Dolvi unit in Maharashtra from five million tonnes to 10 million tonnes and stabilise the two newly acquired steel plants from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) by 2020, which will ramp up its installed capacity to 24-25 million tonnes from the existing 17 million tonnes, the official said.

JSW Steel was also expecting the handover of Bhushan Power and Steel, which operates 3.5 million tonne steel plant in Odhisa.

Bhushan Power and Steel is the second insolvent firm acquired by Sajjan Jindal-led JSW steel after Monnet Ispat and Energy Ltd last year.

"With 5 million tonneS from Dolvi and takeover of Bhushan and Monnet, we expect our capacity to become 24-25 million tonnes by 2020. Then, the expansion of Vijayanagar will be taken up," the official said.

Amid a sharp decline in consolidated net profit for the March 2019 quarter, the company has planned a capex of Rs 15,700 crore for the current fiscal.

"With the fresh approval of Rs 5,700 crore, we are now implementing a cumulative capex spend of Rs 48,715 crore (net of capex projects put on hold during the year) over FY18- FY21," the company's joint managing director and Group CFO Seshagiri Rao had told reporters recently.

The new approval of Rs 5,700 crore investment was mainly to be utilised for downstream investment for about Rs 1,000 crore, Rs 2,200 crore towards cost-saving projects and Rs 2,000 crore for mining, Rao had said.

(PTI)