We had earlier indicated a shift to high throughput and lower-margin products in Q3. However, even in Q4, our share of value-added products has fallen QoQ. So, can you provide any timeline by when we should be able to recalibrate towards higher value-added products? What is the target value-added mix for FY27?
So, I think our thought process on this is fairly clear. At the moment, we are ramping up our facilities. And whilst in ramp-up, our primary goal is first to achieve capacity utilization. And once we start achieving the desired capacity utilization numbers, we start going towards the mix optimization. So that is the way we are approaching it. So, I think you are going to see a little bit of movement in the first two quarters of this year and then a stabilization in the second half of the year.
Can you tell us about the contract versus spot sales mix this quarter and expected in Q1? Also, the product mix changes impact on overall realization - the sequential jump was much higher than what you realized this quarter; could you elaborate on that point?
Vishal Chandak said for any data-related questions he will connect offline. On the product mix point - I would stay away from saying the word deteriorating. Yes, we are increasing our flat sales, and you picked up correctly especially on the HR side. And over there also, we continue to expand our value-added portfolio. Along with that, we have the downstream facilities, which will actually add more capability and more niche products downstream, which will also add to our realization and our value addition program and our ratios on that. In terms of how the numbers will pan out, I think today, we are around 50:50. Flat sales will increase in times to come and move towards 70% odd as we move ahead.
Can you give me a guidance for revenue growth for FY27? And EBITDA margin will be how much for FY27?
I think we have given you the guidance for our sales and production numbers. And I think revenue is a function of a lot of other things. So, we will stick with that for the time being. Vishal Chandak added EBITDA is a function of several things, a lot of which includes raw material and the pricing, which remains outside our control. And also, I would like to add, I think if you look at our performance over the years and quarters, largely, we have been a very robust and a consistent performer on our EBITDA numbers as well as percentages. So, I think that should provide enough confidence for you to take guidance from that.
On iron ore - help with the kind of pricing trends that we saw last quarter. And also, in terms of captive versus outside buying, mix and mine level (Tensa, Kasia and the newer mine).
Okay. So, I think mine level, you can take it offline with Vishal. But largely speaking, we saw that the pricing was more or less stable and our mix is about 60:40. 40% captive.
Is it fair to say that now there will be no excess sale of byproducts going ahead with the ramp-up in steel capacities happening now? And on EC capacities for some of the mines which I believe is still pending - when is that expected to come through?
Yes, that is right. (on byproducts). On EC capacities - It is underway. I think pinpointing a date will be difficult, but the process is underway, and it is working fairly well. And at the moment, with the current capacities, I think within that also, we are fairly comfortable.
Timeline of the ramp-up of the slurry pipeline. If the project gets onboarded in Q1, by when can we expect a full 100% ramp-up or at least at the level of INR 750 to INR 1,000 per tonne of steel savings?
See, full utilization will not happen this year because this utilization will increase as the other facilities that we are coming up in the future also come online, namely PP2. But in terms of savings, whatever material we are bringing in, we will save on that material per tonne basis, as I indicated. That is not a function of how much utilization we have.
What was our NSR increase during the quarter sequentially? And spot versus what we saw in the fourth quarter, how much upside is there for realizations to go up to where spot is at the moment? Q1 and going forward.
I just indicated, the ASP increase is about INR 4,700 per tonne. I think predicting the market will be difficult. But all I can tell you is that the market is holding up. It is healthy. And as I indicated, because of the way we do our product mix and our contract mix, we are in a comfortable position at the moment.
Metallic balance right now as the DRI plant is yet to commissioned. We have 15 million tonnes of iron making and 15.6 million tonnes of crude steelmaking. Is there any plan to buy DRI or other metallics from outside and produce more this year? Or is DRI plant once it comes up the only one which will be contributing to iron making facilities?
So, Prateek, Vishal here. So, as you must have noted that we have already announced our guidance for the production and sales volume for this year. So that would explain the kind of volumes that we are looking up and how we plan to deliver. As and when our DRI comes up, which obviously is under construction phase, we will have more metallics. And for the next year, the volumes will continue to ramp up. So, I would suggest if you can take the current guidance and work accordingly, that would be great.
Value-added product share has come down to around 61% from 66% QoQ. Just wanted to understand the pricing gain versus the average price increase for steel. Is it because this was tapered down also on account of lower share of value-added products?
No, I indicated earlier that as we are ramping up, we are going to focus on both the things, capacity utilization as well as the value-add mix. What you need to also appreciate that value addition and value-added products is something which is built into our DNA, and we continue to focus on that. And in times to come, it will come back to its normal robust levels and improve further. We also have additional capacities in our flats, in the plate segment, on our heat-treated plates, which are doing very well, and they are also growing. So that will also add to our value-added mix.
Versus steel prices, what would be the concurrent increase that we can expect for coking coal and iron ore prices in Q1? And on the slurry pipeline, INR 750 per tonne saving once fully ramped up - is this on the company level savings?
Coking coal, I have already indicated is going to be about $20 to $25 increase in this quarter. (On iron ore) That is difficult to predict. It is a monthly thing that happens. So, it is fairly difficult to predict without an index. It is plus/minus INR100, INR150 here and there. So that is how it moves. But anything beyond that is very difficult to articulate on. (On slurry) Yes, steel level.
If you look at Q4 volume sales of 2.62 and the guidance, effectively is it fair to say that the Q4 sales is going to be the run rate for this year? Sequentially, unlikely to see any big pickup in sales volume?
I think the market is seasonal. So, this factors in the seasonality as well.
Raw material security - where do we see ourselves moving in terms of next 2 years or so versus where we are on thermal, coking coal and iron ore? By security I mean backward integration.
Yes. I think all our announcements are there. The new mines are also announced. So that is also available. So, we have the coal mine and the iron ore mine, as I indicated. And the current capacities are already, I think, in the pack for each mine. So, if you want any further details, I think Vishal can take it offline.
On realization - have your contracts been reset on the higher realization? What will be the impact on realization in the first quarter? And any comment on the recent dip in steel prices?
Thank you for your question. So, two things. We have a mix in our order book of spot selling as well as contractual selling. So typically, in a rising market and a falling market, there is usually a lag also in the system. So, you can see that our ASP has increased significantly and considerably in the last quarter. I think second part of your question was more related to you seeing a slight dip in the market. Yes, but we still feel that at the moment, the market is holding firm, and there is nothing to worry about on that front. And we do have contracts on the earlier prices as well, which are continuing, which will continue to support us as we move ahead in this quarter.
With BOF commissioned, steelmaking capacity commissioned, with slurry pipeline expected to come in first quarter and conveyor belts also largely commissioned - what will be Jindal Steel's capex outlay for FY27 and FY28? Which key projects are left? And will it be fair to say that Jindal Steel will be looking more at asset sweating than further capacity expansion in the next couple of years?
That is a lot of questions in one question. Let me try and break it up. So, I will start reverse. I think you are 100% right. We more or less finished our capex program. Our focus is on sweating the assets and getting returns out of them. So, bang on that. Another question you had is, I think our guidance has been fairly clear that we will be allocating INR 7,500 crores to INR 10,000 crores to our capital expansion programs or sustenance capex as we call it. So, I think that broadly answers your question. If I have missed any part of the question, feel free to go ahead.
Would you like to call out any one-off start-up costs in this quarter Q4?
I think most of the start-up costs were covered in Q3. There was some fag end of it, which was there in Q4, but it is not anything which is significant, and it is all done now.
Any update on FY27 production guidance as well as the benefit which we are going to receive from infrastructure projects combined - specifically slurry pipeline and port facility savings?
Vishal Chandak first reiterated the announced FY27 production and sales guidance at 11 million to 11.5 million tonnes of production and 10.5 million to 11 million tonnes of sales. On slurry - we have been clear in the past. Slurry will come online, and it will start delivering in this financial year. And roughly about INR 700 is the savings that we indicated on that. And if you want to take it to a per tonne basis on steel level, it will be roughly about INR 750 to INR 1,000 as we ramp up.
On the write-downs - what were the write-downs in JPML and in Wollongong? And is it fair to say there would be no additional write-downs now?
This is Sunil Agrawal. So basically, we have written down our WCL, Australian asset, by INR 834 crores, mainly because we are going to close that mine. So, we have already closed the shaft, and that is why it took the hit of around INR 834 crores. India level, if you can see that we have already write-offs around INR 1,433 crores during the quarter. That's right. So, we do not expect any further write-offs. This is represented by the independent valuation done by reputed agency.
On the rail rakes that the company was going to buy - what is the current position? How many rail rakes have already been acquired and how many are left?
So, we are at about, I think our rail rakes program was about 79 rakes. We had about 72 rakes and the remaining rakes are also very soon getting delivered. So, I think in the next 2-3 months, we should be all in.
In terms of incremental volumes we are bringing in this year, in terms of markets, how do we plan to - newer markets or existing markets? Will it be Eastern or new markets?
So, I think there are a couple of ways we are looking at this. Firstly, with our wide product portfolio and the fact that we have a very rich value-added mix and value addition is actually in our DNA. We are able to cross-sell products to existing customers, and we become a good natural choice for them to start buying other products also, which we have just launched, from us. So, we become kind of more or less "one-stop shop" for them for a large portion of the portfolio. Second part - we continue to remain focused on what we define as our strategic markets and our strategic markets where we have strong presence, where usually closer to where we are and also markets which tend to be larger in size. So that is the way we look about it. But generally, we are thinking that our customers actually benefit from cross-selling opportunities that we bring on the table now.
On the mining assets - Mozambique and South Africa contribution this quarter? And with respect to the Australian assets, is there any cash outflow that is required from our side by the time this kind of gets closed?
So, I will take the first one. So basically, as you say, regarding the Australian mine, so hardly, since we have already closed and we have retained a lot of people, so we have very minimal cash flow there. So that is one question. And regarding our Mozambique mine, we are clearly operating at EBITDA positive level. So, we are getting all the mined coals from there for our captive use. Hope that clarifies. Yes, South Africa also is operating, but due to some local issues, so we are not EBITDA positive, but that mine is operating. Vishal Chandak added if you look at the entire big picture of the overseas asset mine base, the only place where we have taken the large part of the write-down is on Australia. Rest of the mines on a net basis are functioning on an EBITDA positive largely.
On the thermal captive power plants - when do we expect the ramp-up from those capacities? What really is the strategy on the power production from there? Will you be looking to sell in the merchant market or use it for captive consumption?
So, I think the ramp-up will be complete within the first half of this year. In terms of the excess power, yes, we intend to sell it. But if you look at the overall picture and the financials, it is not really material to that. But it does 2-3 things. One, obviously, we can sell the excess power, but it gives us stability of power for our assets, and it gives us redundancy of power for our facilities as well. So that is the way to think about it. But yes, it will contribute to the bottom line, but it is not material.
Overall steel demand in India - with ongoing inflationary trends across commodities, are we hearing some kind of delays in capex executions across public and private companies?
No, nothing like that. I think it is fairly healthy. I think I indicated towards a 9%, 9.5% market increase that we are expecting. And with the kind of infrastructure program that we are rolling out, we do not see any issues on that side.
On the cost side, last quarter (Q3) you had a one-time start-up cost of about INR 1,500 a tonne and you indicated there was something this quarter as well. What is the total quantum or this quarter, what is the increment? And the coking coal cost increase during this quarter was how much, $20?
INR125 crores. As I indicated earlier, it is done now. It is a cost. Cost cannot be reversed. Yes, it is over. It will not recur. (On coking coal) About $20, yes.
Given that our flat steel exposure is rising, what kind of end markets are we tracking in terms of segments? Is it more autos, discretionary? Do we need some kind of approvals from consumers on these or fresh approvals, or what we have is good enough for now?
First of all, thank you for your question. We have been maintaining that we are an infrastructure-led organization, and we are also ramping up our facilities. Our focus would be largely on infrastructure sector, followed by building and construction and then, of course, into the downstream facilities, then followed with the automobile sector. See, our HSM has gone very well in terms of getting the approvals, and we have developed all the grades which are needed for all the niche products. We are in the process of ramping them up in this quarter and going forward also. Gautam Malhotra added the thing to look at over here is this is not something which will hold our plans. We are well positioned to execute our plans going forward.
Can you give the flat and long mix for 4Q and FY26 as a whole?
52% flat, 48% longs. This is for the Q4. 49% flat, 51% longs. (For the full year FY26).
Given that we have seen price increase in 4Q sequentially every month, fair to assume that the current ASPs would be still higher than what we delivered in 4Q?
It is. Yeah, it is holding strong. It is higher. And at the moment, we do not see anything which is otherwise.
Tax impact of the INR 840 crores write-down in Australia. So, does it have any tax impact on the reported P&L? Is INR 840 crore net of taxes, or before tax?
Yes. Whatever we have written down, INR 1,433 crores, we will save tax on that. No, INR 840 crores is on the Australia balance sheet. Yes. And India level, we have written off INR 1,433 crores, and that is subject to income tax benefit. Vishal Chandak added these are gross numbers, you can calculate the tax accordingly, right.
Can you give us a timeline of what are the key projects which will be commissioned in FY27 and FY28? The DRI plant is what, Q2, Q4, how should we look at it?
I think the projects; slurry will be commissioned in this quarter. We already indicated ports will be commissioned. And we have two projects left, which we had indicated for this financial year, which were DRI 2 and PP2. It is towards the end of the year. (For DRI plant).
Clarification - the cost savings from slurry pipeline at INR 750 per tonne is on the full steel volumes of the company, right - 10 million, 11 million tonne kind of number?
No. So earlier indicated at INR 700 per tonne of iron ore coming in, which will translate to that kind of a number, but that is not dependent on it going towards the full utilization.