Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) registered a turnover of Rs 12,860 crore in the first quarter of FY18 posting a growth of 26 percent over the turnover of Rs 10,180 crore achieved in the corresponding period last year. In the same quarter, the total sales volume at 3.028 million tonnes (MT) recorded a 9 percent growth over the previous year. With Management's intensive focus on ramping up of new mills and enriched product mix from the new facilities, the company continued to remain EBITDA positive (Rs 23 crore EBITDA in Q1FY18 in Apr-June'17 period. However, higher prices of both indigenous and imported the overall profitability margin decelerated despite a 14 percent higher Net Sales Realisations. The profit after tax (PAT) stood at Rs (-) 801 crore for Q1FY18. Chairman, SAIL, PK Singh said that, "We are maintaining positive EBITDA in spite of the challenging situation in the steel sector, and that shows the collective resolve of the Company. With the imported coal availability stabilising and focus on ramping up the new units, the situation will improve in coming quarters. We have drastically reduced production from inefficient units and are optimising the coal blend in operations to reduce costs. These steps will surely translate into improved financials going forward."