Aided by a rally in prices and low-cost inventory, has posted much better profits in the March quarter. With joint ventures with the world’s two largest steel companies JFE and Posco, JSW Steel is bullish on future growth, though near-term prospects appear hazy due to the West Asia war. Jayant Acharya, Joint MD & CEO, JSW Steel, spoke to businessline on the way forward.
Excerpts:
What are the main drivers for better Q4 performance?
The main drivers are strong operational performance on the back of better volumes. We were able to increase our domestic sales and liquidate inventories. We improved value added and premium and special product mix which has grown sharply. In spite of the BF3 (blast furnace) shutdown, we were able to do a 96 per cent capacity utilisation through better plant reliability. In last two years, we were working on various digitalization efforts and placed sensors on various parts at the plant for better plant reliability and preventive maintenance.
Has the rise in steel prices also helped?
Yes. However, steel prices in Q3 was one of the lows and touched six year low in December. Later, the safeguard and seasonal domestic demand picked up which resulted in price increases gradually between January and April. Internationally, also prices have improved and that. In Europe prices were at $830 a tonne and in US it was at $1,100, whereas in India it was about $620. Indian domestic price where it was three years back.
How do you see steel prices going ahead?
The prices will be range bound. We need to watch how the geopolitical situation plays out. IMF said that the world has been very resilient and given positive forecast unless the war prolongs. We feel India is much better placed for good growth. While there may be short-term impacts in terms of this West Asia crisis, the long-term trajectory of Indian economic growth and fundamentals remain intact.
Do you see raw material prices going up further with the war in West Asia?
The coking coal prices last quarter went up by $16 a tonne. We will see another increase in this quarter between $12 to $15 price. It has started increasing over the past weeks. This will now play out in quarter one. The impact of higher cost of limestone and fluxes, plus the foreign exchange will certainly increase cost in June quarter. The quarterly prices contract with automotive industry will get recalibrated now. So costs are going up, but we feel we will be able to improve the spread a little bit over the cost.
How do you rate FY26 for JSW Steel?
It was a transformational year for us. While we delivered strong operational numbers because of the domestic market, better asset utilisation, we have also concluded our strategic joint ventures with both leading global steel players JFE and POSCO. We are creating double engine growth in India to meet the India’s growing demand. The company along with JVs and US operations target 80 mt capacity by 2030. We have ramped up our JVML (JSW Vijayanagar Metallics: 5 MTPA) operations, started the Utkal phase, starting expansion in Kadakpur. We are adding coking coal and iron ore mines in the domestic market. We have completed the acquisition of high-grade coking coal in Mozambique. It will enhance raw material security further. The deleveraged balance sheet will create the foundation for the next phase of growth. India is very well placed for growth in the next two decades.
What would be the investment for 80 mtpa by 2030?
The board has already approved investment of ₹126,000 crore. In addition to that, we will be spending additional capex of over ₹200,000 crore. We would be spending about ₹25,000 crore to ₹30,000 crore a year.
What are your fund raising plans?
We take enabling provisions to raise debt every year. However, our next phase of capex will mostly be funded through internal accruals. The second tranche of JFE joint venture amount will be used to further deleverage the existing debt of ₹54,000 crore as of March-end. We expect better cash flows in this year with better volumes. This will also support capex spend. We will be more comfortable with net debt to EBITDA of below 2.5 times against current level of three level.
Will the West Asia war slow down private capex revival?
The private capex has started happening. The recent CII study has highlighted private capex announcements being better in the last year. The automotive industry has announced close to ₹80,000 crore of investment. Of course, people are conscious about the West risk and they will assess the risk, but if this does not prolong everybody is more conducive to expand capacity in India.
When will the joint venture with JFE and POSCO take shape?
We are targetting 6 mt integrated greenfield steel plant with POSCO in Odisha. We expect to start the project sometime next year and complete it by 2031. We cannot immediately say all Korean car companies will buy from us. POSCO would certainly bring in technology for automotive grade steel which will attract Korean customers. Imports from Korea will probably slowdown. POSCO imports steel for its 2 mtpa cold rolling plant in Maharashtra. This will be supplied from the joint venture steel plant become operation. We will expand BPSL capacity to 10 mt from 4.5 mt. We should start the construction once the joint venture board decides by next year. It will be an expansion of 5.5 mt in one go. We are putting the plans together for technology, equipments and product mix.