After making continuous profits for more than a decade, Bokaro Steel had incurred a loss of Rs 150 crore on a turnover of Rs 4,700 crore in 1998-99 fiscal, mainly because its hot strip mill and some other units were out of operation for a considerable period.

According to SAIL sources, Bokaro Steel is aiming to enhance its turnover to around Rs 5,500 crore this year, with both higher volume of sales and higher realisation from the market.

Since SAIL does not announce plant-wise profit and loss figures and provides only a central financial statement, everybody in the government-owned steel company is tight-lipped about expected profits for Bokaro. But indications are already there that Bokaro steel would be showing a profit this fiscal.

"It is too early to give a forecast about the full fiscal. Butfirst-quarter trends are definitely positive. A lot also depends upon the financial restructuring of SAIL, which is now expected to be approved by the government," a senior SAIL official said. With a surplus domestic capacity of around 3 million tonnes in the flat product sector, Bokaro's products are in for a tight market squeeze.

However, the vast quality improvement, subsequent to modernisation is standing Bokaro in good stead, not only with the domestic customers, but even in global markets. Modernisation has not only improved chemical properties and surface finish, but also enhanced the width and thickness ranges of coils. Bokaro hot rolled (HR) coils are now available in the thickness range of 1.6 - 16mm, and the width range from 750-1,850mm.

Bokaro has started exporting HR coils to countries like USA and South Africa. During the first quarter of the current fiscal, 2,42,046 tonnes of HR coils, 76,225 tonnes of HR sheets and 7,007 tonnes of galvanised sheets were despatched for the domestic market.Total saleable steel despatches at 8,12,164 tonnes were 29 per cent more than that of the corresponding period of last year.

The plant produced 8,48,325 tonnes of saleable steel in the first quarter of the current fiscal against 5,95,300 tonne produced during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, a growth of 42.5 per cent. The major contribution was by the revamped hot strip mill at 7,14,218 tonne which is higher by 44 per cent.