The mood at Tisco's analyst meet was distinctly upbeat for the first time in years. In his introductory remarks, D. Irani mentioned that during his recent investor meetings in Europe and USA he found Fund Manager's upbeat on India and commodity stocks. Tata Steel was able to hold its ground in the recent troubled times due to a loyal customer base and improving operational efficiencies.
Some positive signs are visible in the current fiscal.
The recently installed government at the centre is expected to provide much needed political stability and is also expected to increase spending on infrastructural activities thereby increasing the demand for steel. The oversupply scenario in the steel industry is expected to continue due to excess capacity. The apparent domestic consumption was expected to be around 32mt in FY00, but with the slowdown in the economy the actual consumption in FY00 is now estimated to be around 23mt. The domestic manufacturers were also affected due to cheaper imports from the CIS nations. The introduction of the floor prices for imports during the current year gave the domestic producer some flexibility in pricing.