STEEL COMPANIES SHOW IMPROVEMENT

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Steel Companies which had witnessed slow growth throughout the last financial year, are showing visible signs of improvement since the beginning of the current fiscal. The combined market capitalisation of the top seven steel manufacturers stood at Rs. 7,301.8 crore when the market closed in mid May, up 19.81 per cent since the beginning of the year when the market capitalisation stood at Rs. 6,094 crore on April 1, 2002.

The improvements witnessed in the steel sector are an outcome of the price hike effected last month by all the steel manufacturers. Additional focus in the budget on roadways and other infrastructure activities too are helping the steel makers report better sales figures. Realisations have improved, and prices may be expected to improve further. The share prices of steel stocks have all uniformly gone up during the April-May period, reflecting a uniformity of industry conditions.