20000104

Pak Steel achieves

110 pc production

target in

second quarter

RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: The Pakistan Steel made 251,910 tonnes of steel utilizing 91 percent of the production capacity, attaining 110 percent of budgeted target in the second quarter of the financial year 1999-2000, higher by 25 percent to the corresponding period last year.

Last years production stood at 203,016 tonnes of steel utilizing 74 percent production capacity and achieving 82 percent of budget target.

A press release of the Pakistan Steel issued on Monday said that the production in the second quarter of the current financial year was the fifth highest since the commissioning of the steel making plant. It was higher by nine percent as compared with the first quarter of the financial year 1999-2000 when 229,123 tonnes of steel was made at 83 percent of the capacity and 101 percent of the budgeted target.

The sale of steel products in the second quarter of the financial year 1999-2000 tonnage wise was 228,198 tonnes higher by 3,281 tonnes, as compared with 224,917 tonnes of the corresponding period last year. The sale in the second quarter was higher by 19,952 tonnes as compared with 208,246 tonnes in the first quarter of the financial year 1999-2000.

The production in the first half of the current financial year was 481,033 tonnes which was 106 percent of the budgeted target, utilising 87 percent of the capacity. It was higher by 19 percent as compared with the corresponding period last year, when 388,074 tonnes of steel was produced utilising 74 percent capacity and achieving 82 percent of the budgeted target. The sale of steel products (436,444 tonnes) during the first half of the current financial year was higher tonnage wise by 788 tonnes as compared to the sale in the corresponding period (435,656 tonnes) during the financial year 1998-99.

The production of steel recorded on the last day of the century December 31, was 102 percent of the capacity (3080 tonnes) in the last month of the century 82, 735 tonnes of steel was achieved utilising 88.5 percent of the capacity, which was 106.7 percent of the budget target.

In December 1999 higher figures of production of Blooms (18808 tonnes) and rolled billets (24285 tonnes) were recorded since February 1998, when 19,667 tonnes Blooms and 25,397 tonnes of rolled billets were produced.