Steel Authority of India Ltd., or SAIL, reported a net profit of 688.4 million Indian rupees in the first quarter of its fiscal 2020, compared to 5.40 billion rupees in the year-ago period.

SAIL noted Aug. 9 that this marked the seventh consecutive quarter that it made a profit amid subdued demand during the period caused by volatile market conditions.

Hot metal and salable steel production reached a record 4.32 million tonnes and 3.65 Mt, respectively, with salable steel volumes steady year on year at 3.25 Mt. Crude steel output was stable at 3.93 Mt.

SAIL Chairman Anil Kumar Chaudhary expects steel market conditions to improve for the rest of the financial year on the back of the Indian government's planned infrastructure investments and the ramp-up of the company's volumes for its modernized units.

Chaudhary was recently attacked by four unknown men recently in an incident that he suspected may have been related to the company's business dealings.

As of Aug. 9, US$1 was equivalent to 70.98 rupees.