History of SAIL

Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) traces its origin to Hindustan Steel Ltd, set up on January 19, 1954. Hindustan Steel (HSL) was initially meant to manage only one plant that was coming up at Rourkela. Eventually, the Bhilai and Durgapur steel plants were also transferred to HSL in 1957, beginning its journey. In 1972, the government wished to build a holding company that could manage inputs and outputs under one umbrella. This process led to the establishment of the Steel Authority of India Ltd. The company was incorporated on January 24, 1973, with an authorised capital of ₹2,000 crore. It was made responsible for managing the five steel plants in Durgapur, Bhilai, Bokaro, Rourkela and Burnpur, plus the Alloy Steel Plant and Salem Steel Plant. In 2001, SAIL entered into a joint venture with NTPC to form NSPCL for captive power generation. In 2010, SAIL became a Maharatna company, and in 2019, the company launched its new branded TMT bars, SAIL SeQR. In 2015, the company won the contract to supply rail to the railway expansion project in Iran. In 2021, SAIL launched its "SAIL Vision 2030", which set the target for its crude steel production capacity to 50 million tonnes per annum by 2030. The company has also shown significant effort towards launching new and improved versions of steel such as 'Duplex Stainless Steel', Ultra Low Nb Structural, etc.

Business Segments 

SAIL is one of the largest steel producers in India and is a CPSE or central public sector enterprise. It has a wide range of product lines, including Structurals, SAIL TMT BARS, Galvanised Products, Wire Rods, Plates, Railway Products, Pipes, Wheels and Axles, Hot and Cold Rolled Products, and Stainless Steel Products, among others. Although most of its major customers are institutional buyers like Defence and the Railways, SAIL also services the requirements of a variety of customers in construction, heavy engineering, fabrication, tubes, cold-reducers, automobiles, cycles, drums and barrels, containers, white goods, transportation of oil/gas/water, coated sheet manufacturers, wire drawers and agricultural equipment. The company increases or decreases the proportion of the production of any of these products based on the changing market conditions. For example, if the price of iron ore decreases, then SAIL may choose to focus its production efforts elsewhere and wait for the iron prices to jump back.

Corporate Actions

SAIL has not gone through any acquisitions, buybacks, stock splits, rights issues or issuance of bonus shares in recent years. Mergers and Acquisitions

• On February 13, 2011, the company acquired 50% of the shares in Steel Complex Limited (SCL), Kozhikode that were earlier held by the state government of Kerala and took over the operations of SCL.

Financial Highlights 

1. Between March 2021 and March 2022, SAIL saw its sales revenue jump by nearly 50%.
2. However, between March 2022 and March 2023, SAIL’s profit after tax has fallen by nearly 82%.
3. The company has low debt, as its debt-to-equity ratio is about 0.56 in September 2023.
4. The company needs to improve its solvency as its current ratio and quick ratio are standing at 0.78 and 0.21, respectively, in September 2023.