Tata Sponge production surges 8% to record 3.9Litres in FY17

New Delhi: Tata Sponge on Friday said its sponge iron production increased 8 percent to record 3.9 lakh tonnes in 2016-17 compared to 3.6 lakh tonnes in the preceding fiscal.

"During the year, daily production level was 1,247 TPD (tonnes per day) and average operating days were 313 days. Debottlenecking of Kiln 1, procurement of excellent quality of raw materials and process improvements have resulted in the enhanced production during the year," the company said in its Annual report 2016-17.

Uninterrupted supply of iron ore has helped the company to achieve the record production, it said.

"The company sourced 95 percent of iron ore from Tata Steel. Based on the experience gained in the past from using imported coal of superior quality having a positive impact on the quality of sponge iron, the company sourced 96 percent of coal of different grades from South Africa," it added.

Sponge iron sale rose 7.4 percent to 3.93 lakh tonnes as against 3.66 lakh tonnes in the previous year, the firm said.

"Our continuous strive to enhance the value of our product supported by efficient business and operating processes has resulted in higher volume...," its Chairman A M Misra said.

The metal company produces high-grade sponge iron and has an annual manufacturing capacity of 3.9 lakh tonnes of sponge iron from its 3 kilns.

Shares of the company today ended 1.02 percent down at Rs 828.20 a piece on BSE.