Tata Steel sure of staying in the black
Tata Steel (Thailand) might miss its sales target of 1.25 million tonnes this fiscal year but it expects to stay in the black in the second quarter and for the full year, president and chief executive officer Rajiv Mangal said.
He said yesterday that at the moment he was not sure the company would achieve its sales target for the year ending March 2016, because of weaker-than-expected demand and lower prices. Achievement of the target would depend on domestic demand and how many new infrastructure projects are rolled out soon.
He added that the company was on track to achieve growth of 10-12 per cent this year thanks to the contribution of exports to total sales.
He expects the company to make a net profit in the current fiscal year because of effective cost controls and strong customer service.
"We are looking at all means to finish the year in the black," he added.
According to its first-quarter financial results (April-June 2015) of the current fiscal, net profit after tax amounted to Bt11 million, compared with Bt18 million over the same period last year and losses in the second, third and fourth quarters of the previous fiscal year.
Total sales volume in the first quarter of fiscal 2016 was 270,500 tonnes, of which 24,600 tonnes was exported, accounting for 9 per cent of total sales.
Mangal believes the export contribution this year could surge to 10-12 per cent, up from 7 per cent in the previous fiscal, largely because of the plan to export 30,000 tonnes of rebar steel between August and December for the second phase of the Xayaburi hydropower project in Laos. Tata Thai also exports to Cambodia, Indonesia and India.
He said he hoped the government would quickly promote a level playing field in the industry to ensure fair competition, especially against the subsidised import of steel from China, particularly low-carbon and high-carbon wire rods.
