JSW Steel sees scope to increase domestic steel prices; Seshagiri Rao says Bhushan Power turnaround will take time

JSW Steel posted a manifold jump in its consolidated net profit to Rs 4,191 crore for the quarter ended March 31, and said it will spend over Rs 25,000 crore on projects in Odisha, Karnataka and Jammu & Kashmir. The company had clocked a net profit of Rs 188 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year, JSW Steel said in a BSE filing.

Seshagiri Rao, Joint MD & Group CFO of JSW Steel discussed the performance.

Domestic steel prices are at a discount to the landed cost of imported steel from Japan, China or Korea, he said.

“Even after the correction that has happened in the last few days in the prices from China, even if I take that price into account, the landed cost of import from China is expensive by 19 percent compared to domestic prices. At the same time, the steel from Japan and Korea is expensive by 15-16 percent. So there is scope definitely for increase in prices assuming the other factors remain as they are today,” he added.

In terms of capacity utilisation, the company was operating at around 91 percent in the month of April and at around 96 percent in the month of March.

“In the month of May, we are almost at the same level that of April,” he shared.

Due to the COVID-19 second wave, the workers at the Dolvi plant have left. “The actual work that is left out to be completed on an integrated basis is only around one and a half to two months’ time. We have given the guidance of 1.5 million tonne production from expansion, and 17 million tonne from our existing operations, there is another million tonne from Mingo Junction, Ohio. So total we will be able to produce 19.5 million tonne,” he stated.

He is confident that this year there will be a good positive EBITDA from overseas operations.

“We have started operations both in Mingo and Baytown in the month of March. Even though for the quarter the EBITDA was negative, for the month of March there was positive EBITDA from US operations. We are very confident that we will be able to turn around in this year and make a good positive EBITDA from the US,” he said.

Bhushan Power and Steel will take some more time to turn around in the company. “Generally we acquire the companies which are under financial distress, financial stress. We work on that to turnaround the company. It takes two-three years’ time, thereafter we brought it under the umbrella of JSW Steel. Monnet Ispat is turning around, it is doing well. Similarly, Bhushan Power and Steel will take some more time to show a good turnaround in the company. The overall objective is to bring everything under the umbrella of JSW Steel,” he mentioned.

Currently, the company is evaluating Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd opportunity.

“We are looking at the opportunity, we are evaluating. We have submitted our expression of interest (EoI),” he said.