Exports to the Rescue

Exports to the Rescue Hansavivek BHARAT STEEL TUBES staged a turn round in the year ended March last from a trading loss of Rs 47 lakhs to a gross profit of Rs 46 lakhs, following expansion of turnover from Rs 19.79 crores to Rs 28.45 crores, but is again skipping dividend. Production of steel pipes and tubes was 64,251 tonnes as against 49,553 tonnes and sales were 64,241 tonnes as against 45,444 tonnes. Domestic offtake or' pipes and tubes did not show any appreciable improvement. As construction activity continued to be low, prices of pipes drifted lower and average realisation in the home market was lower by Rs 275 per tonne. In addition, more liberal credit terms had to be offered to customers, which resulted in higher finance charges. Export prices however remained steady. The company's overall profitability was affected by high cost of steel imported from rupee payment countries during 1974-75 but consumed during 1976-77. The impact of price difference between imported and indigenous stkel amounted to over Rs 50 lakhs. The company expanded exports from Rs 4'48 crores to Rs 9.82 crores by exporting about 55 per cent of the total tonnage sold. The engineering services division completed jobs worth Rs 3,32 crores as against Rs 2.14 crores in the previous year. Orders on hand with the division at the year-end were worth about Rs 3 crores.