JSW Steel on Friday posted a fiscal first quarter profit jump of 189.4 per cent to reach Rs 2,428 crore from Rs 839 crore during the first quarter of FY23. It posted revenue from operations at Rs 42,213 crore, up 10.8 per cent as against Rs 38,086 crore during Q1FY23. The company EBITDA stood at Rs 7,046 crore. The total income generation during the quarter was recorded at Rs 42,544 crore, up 11.2 per cent in comparison to Rs 38,275 crore in the corresponding quarter of FY23. JST Steel posted total expenditure for Q1FY24 at Rs 39,030 crore, up 5.6 per cent from Rs 36,977 crore during the first quarter of FY23.
JSW Steel’s consolidated Net Gearing (Net Debt to Equity) stood at 0.96x at the end of the quarter, and Net Debt to EBITDA stood at 3.14x. The net debt increased to Rs 66,797 crore during the quarter, mainly due to higher working capital.
The consolidated crude steel production for the quarter stood at 6.43 million tonnes, up 11 per cent on-year. “The Company had taken certain scheduled shutdowns at Indian operations during the quarter, hence the average capacity utilization for Q1FY24 was 92 per cent compared to 96 per cent in Q4FY23,” said JSW Steel. Steel sales for the quarter was at 5.71 million tonnes, up 27 per cent on-year and lower by 13 per cent sequentially, impacted by channel destocking, with exports also being impacted by delayed loading due to the cyclone on the western coast of India towards the end of the quarter, it said.
JSW Steel also announced the appointment of Swayam Saurabh as the chief financial officer of the company. “Swayam will transition into the role of Chief Financial Officer in due course,” it said in a regulatory filing. He is joining JSW Steel from Arvind Limited where he worked as the Chief Financial Officer. Previously, he has worked in senior leadership roles at Royal Philips, Hindustan Zinc, Ola, Asian Paints and Larsen & Toubro.
JSW Steel’s subsidiaries’ Q1FY24 performance
During the quarter, JSW Steel coated products, including its subsidiaries, registered a production volume of 0.98 million tonnes and sales volume of 0.94 million tonnes. The subsidiary reported a PAT of Rs 119 crore for the quarter.
Bhushan Power & Steel (BPSL) registered crude steel production of 0.74 million tonnes and sales volume of 0.69 million tonnes. BPSL reported a PAT of Rs 199 crore for the quarter.
The EAF-based steel manufacturing facility in Ohio, USA, produced 73,919 net tonnes of HRC and 2,67,896 net tonnes of slabs during the quarter. It reported an EBITDA of $2.60 million for the quarter.
The plate & pipe mill based in Texas, USA produced 1,21,833 net tonnes of plates and 10,339 net tonnes of pipes, reporting a capacity utilization of 49 per cent and 8 per cent, respectively, during the quarter.
The Italy based rolled long products manufacturing facility produced 97,933 tonnes and sold 73,833 tonnes of rolled products during the quarter. It reported an EBITDA profit of Euro 18.6 million for the quarter.
Outlook for growth
With India well placed in the global economy as well as the evolving geopolitical landscape, JST Steel said that the strong economic momentum continued, driven by infrastructure spending by the government and positive business and consumer sentiments. Further, it said that the country is favourably placed for secure new manufacturing investments as global supply chains re-align. While it lauded the participation of multinational corporations and banks in generating new employment opportunities as well as in facilitating real estate and consumption in the country, government initiatives and investments in infrastructure and manufacturing facilities via PLI scheme, it maintained that an uneven monsoon and global slowdown are key risks for the Indian economy.