Tata Steel has announced that its sales in India were up 8 per cent in the December quarter to 5.29 million tonnes, against 4.88 million tonnes logged in the same period last year, due to fresh capacity additions and exports.

Sales also increased in the Netherlands to 1.53 mt (1.30 mt) while it fell in the UK to 0.56 mt (0.64 mt) on a lower base. Sales in Thailand went up to 0.28 mt (0.25 mt).

Production in India increased 6 per cent to 5.68 mt (5.35 mt); in the Netherlands, it was up at 1.76 mt (1.19 mt). The company did not produce any steel in the UK as it has shut down the existing blast furnace to set up an environment-friendly electric arc furnace and has received permission from the UK Government to import slabs from different countries, including India, duty-free.

Production in Thailand was lower a tad at 0.26 mt (0.27 mt).

Tata Steel commissioned a fresh capacity of 5 MTPA at Kalinganagar in September. The new blast furnace is presently operating at 8,000 tonnes per day and is being ramped up to its rated capacity.

The company commissioned the Continuous Annealing Line in December as part of the 2.2 MTPA CRM (Cold Rolling Mill) complex at Kalinganagar and has received facility approvals from some of the major original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

Sales of automotive and special products were up 3 per cent at 2.3 mt.

Tata Tiscon, a real estate-focused brand, sales increased 20 per cent while that of Tata Steelium (cold rolled brand for SMEs) jumped 7 per cent y-o-y.

Revenues from Tata Steel Aashiyana, an e-commerce platform for Individual Home Builders, were up 37 per cent at Rs 2,154 crore.

Tata Steel Netherlands’ liquid steel production includes volumes of about 0.12 mt in UK operations, said the company.