The company’s India operations (Tata Steel Standalone plus Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited) generated revenues of Rs 36,989 crores and EBITDA of Rs 9,908 crores, translating into a 27% margin. India’s EBITDA per ton climbed by Rs 3,255 quarter-on-quarter to Rs 19,162. Crude steel output in India reached 5.76 million tons, with deliveries of 5.17 million tons — both figures held back by planned maintenance shutdowns at the Meramandali and Kalinganagar plants, which management expects to normalize in coming quarters.
Overseas, the Netherlands business posted revenues of €1,445 million and EBITDA of €4 million, with output curtailed by the closure of the Direct Sheet Plant; trial runs ahead of a full restart are now underway with local environmental authorities’ approval. In the UK, revenues came in at £484 million, and the EBITDA loss narrowed to £27 million.
Capital expenditure for the quarter totaled Rs 3,579 crores. Key ongoing projects include the ramp-up of the 0.75 MTPA electric arc furnace at Ludhiana and construction of a new Hot Rolled Pickling & Galvanising Line, alongside a tinplate capacity expansion. Net debt stood at Rs 84,173 crores, putting the net debt-to-EBITDA ratio at 2.3x, while group liquidity remained strong at Rs 45,950 crores.
The Board also approved a major capacity expansion at Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited — adding 4.8 MTPA of steelmaking capacity at an estimated cost of Rs 33,873 crores — aimed at strengthening Tata Steel’s branded long-products business.
CEO and Managing Director T V Narendran noted: “Global operating environment remained complex, with the impact of developments in West Asia on supply chains and input costs being more pronounced in the quarter. Our overseas operations also had to navigate operational disruptions. Despite these headwinds, Tata Steel delivered a sequential improvement in EBITDA per ton for the third consecutive quarter. India continued to be the backbone of our performance, with domestic deliveries growing 11% YoY to 4.85 million tons. Our agile commercial strategy and calibrated market mix enabled us to maximise value realisation across segments, driving a strong QoQ improvement of Rs 5,991 per ton in net steel realisations. Automotive & Special Products delivered ‘best ever’ 1Q performance, driven by 21% YoY growth in hi-end sales. Our branded portfolio continued to gain momentum, with Tata Tiscon and Tata Steelium registering a growth of more than 30% YoY. Our e-commerce platforms, Aashiyana and DigECA, generated Gross Merchandise Value of around Rs 2,200 crores, up 61% YoY. We also strengthened our presence in emerging segments such as shipbuilding, data centers and containers. Today, our Board approved the 4.8 MTPA expansion at Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited, which is central to our strategy of deepening our presence in high-margin and branded long products. In UK, the recently implemented safeguard measures are expected to provide a more supportive market environment, although the benefits vary across product categories. We continue to engage with the UK government to support a level playing field for domestic producers. In the Netherlands, we are engaging closely with the local environmental authorities to implement the required technical measures for a safe, compliant and sustained restart of the Direct Sheet Plant.”
CFO Koushik Chatterjee added: “During the quarter, our consolidated revenues were Rs 60,794 crores and EBITDA was Rs 9,370 crores. EBITDA grew 25% YoY and is now tracking close to Rs 13,000 per ton levels. India revenues for the quarter were Rs 36,989 crores and EBITDA was Rs 9,908 crores. India EBITDA improved significantly from Rs 15,907 per ton in 4Q to Rs 19,162 per ton. Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited, our strategic platform for expanding the long products portfolio, generated EBITDA of Rs 498 crores, which translates to a robust margin of 29%, and provides confidence for the expansion project. Within our overseas portfolio, UK narrowed its EBITDA loss from -ve £48 million in 4Q to -ve £27 million in 1Q, reflecting the impact of targeted improvement initiatives and better pricing supported by trade measures. This improvement was achieved despite operational disruptions arising from the unfortunate pickle line fire. In Netherlands, the performance was impacted by the temporary shutdown of Direct Sheet Plant. We are progressing towards its restart in discussion with the local regulator. We have spent around Rs 3,579 crores towards capital expenditure during the quarter. Working capital was impacted by inventory build due to operational and supply chain disruptions, and an increase in prices. We remain focused on cost optimisation and working capital efficiency to maximise cashflows. Net debt stood at Rs 84,173 crores and Net debt to EBITDA was 2.3x, below our stated range of 2.5 – 3.0x through cycle. Our group liquidity remains strong at Rs 45,950 crores, which includes cash & cash equivalents of Rs 13,221 crores. The Board has approved ~Rs 33,873 crores towards the core project of steelmaking capacity expansion by 4.8 MTPA at Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited, which will expand the total capacity to 6.2 MTPA. This expansion is the first phase of growth at NINL and is at an advanced stage of readiness after completion of engineering.”
