Thank you, Steve. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us today.

We at Anand Rathi are pleased to host Q1 FY27 earnings conference call of Jindal Steel Limited. I will now hand over the call to Mr.

Vishal Chandak, Head Investor Relations, to introduce the senior management and initiate the proceedings of the call, which would then be followed by question-and-answer session. Thank you, and over to you, sir.

Thank you very much, Parthiv. Ladies and gentlemen, a very good afternoon.

Thank you very much for joining us on a Saturday afternoon to discuss the financial results of Jindal Steel for the first quarter of FY27. Joining us on today's call are members of our senior management team: Mr.

Damodar Mittal, Whole-Time Director; Mr. Debojyoti Ray, Executive Director, Raigarh; Mr.

Biju Nair, Executive Director, Angul; Mr. Sunil Agarwal, Executive Vice President, Finance; Ms.

Roopali Mehra, Head of Sales and Marketing. Before we begin, it gives me immense pleasure to introduce three distinguished members who have recently joined the company's leadership team.

Firstly, we are delighted to introduce our Managing Director, Mr. V.

R. Sharma.

Though he needs no introduction, let me begin by saying Mr. V.

R. Sharma is a distinguished industry leader with over four decades of international leadership experience across the steel, power, metals and cement sectors.

A mechanical engineer with an MBA from the College of Applied Science, UK, he has held several leadership positions across the industry. Mr.

Sharma previously served us as the Managing Director of Jindal Steel Limited from 2019 to 2022 and before that as the Deputy Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the company from 2010 to 2014. He has worked with several steel companies in India and abroad during his long tenure of more than four decades.

I'm also delighted to introduce Mr. Rajiv Kumar, Chief Operating Officer.

Mr. Kumar is a highly accomplished steel industry leader with over 35 years of experience spanning operations, manufacturing, project execution and business leadership.

A metallurgical engineer from BIT Sindri, he brings deep expertise in integrated steel operations, product development, operational excellence, and the successful execution and scaling of large manufacturing facilities. Mr.

Kumar served as CEO of the aluminum business of Vedanta prior to joining Jindal Steel. He has also had a distinguished career at Tata Steel in various leadership roles.

Lastly, I'm equally pleased to introduce Mr. Sandeep Modi, our Chief Financial Officer.

Mr. Modi is an accomplished finance leader with over two decades of experience across the metals, mining and power sectors.

A chartered accountant and a Master of Commerce, he possesses extensive expertise in corporate finance, business strategy, treasury, taxation, commercial operations, capital markets, investor relations and M&A, among other critical areas. He is an all-India rank holder in his chartered accountancy examination and has received numerous recognitions for excellence in finance leadership.

He was previously the Chief Financial Officer at Hindustan Zinc and has spent more than 20 years with the Vedanta Group before joining Jindal Steel. I request you all to please join me in welcoming Mr.

V. R.

Sharma, Mr. Rajiv Kumar, and Mr.

Sandeep Modi. With that, I will now hand over the floor to Mr.

Sharma for his opening remarks. Over to you, sir.

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you, Vishal, for the introduction.

My name is V. R.

Sharma. Full name is Vidya Rattan Sharma.

I have more than four decades of experience in steel and metal industry. It is a privilege to lead Jindal Steel once again.

I was the Managing Director in the year 2019 to 2022. You have seen that it was a great comeback by JSPL under the leadership of Naveen Jindal-ji during that tenure.

I'm again delighted, yes, to be part of this company and part of wonderful team what we have today. When I look around the teams at Angul and Raigarh, it reinforces my belief that we are building not just world-class assets in terms of plant and equipment, but also a world-class organization driven by exceptional and outstanding professionals what the company has chosen from different fields and different companies.

I welcome you all to Jindal Steel's Q1 FY27 earning briefing, and thank you all for taking out time on weekly off, that is Saturday, to attend this particular meet. Let me begin with a brief overview of the global macroeconomic landscape.

As you all know that the world has been passing through a very critical geopolitical situation. For the last four years, we are seeing that Ukraine and Russia war is going on, which has shattered not only the economy in Europe, but everywhere in the world.

Now for the last one year, the ripples and then a big fight in between America together with Israel and on Iran. That this has also created a lot of problems for the whole world.

The economy has dwindled. The fuel prices have gone up.

The steel consumption per se at the moment that is stable or little with a downtrend. There is always a light after the end of tunnel.

We are seeing that in times to come or very soon there'll be a solution to both the problems, both the wars, which are being fought within Europe and also within Middle East. The moment these two wars are stopped, then we are looking a great opportunity for the steel industry to come back and to supply steel worldwide.

I would say that this is a good future which exists today. In India, the RBI projects GDP to grow at a rate of about 6.6% in FY27.

Despite near-term uncertainties, India continues to remain the fastest-growing economy in the world, supported by strong domestic demand, sustained capital expenditure, and stable macroeconomic environment. Domestically, the steel industry witnessed seasonal softness.

This always happens especially in the monsoon season during this quarter. India's crude steel production declined by 6% on quarter-on-quarter basis to 42 million tons, while finished steel consumption declined by 7%, that is about 41.5 million tons.

Globally, China has announced a significant policy reset focused on capacity swap reforms to strengthen supply discipline. We believe this is a positive development and could accelerate a much-needed supply-side reforms in the Chinese steel industry especially.

Because today we are seeing that in China the capacity reduction is about 50 to 60 million tons, whereas the demand has gone down by 100 million tons. This has created a little surplus in the international market, but I'm sure the moment these two geopolitical situations or the war, this is settled, then everybody will find its place in the international market and the domestic market.

Because steel is not only in the form of steel that goes outside, this also goes in the outside in the form of machinery, plant, equipment, vessels, pressure vessels, and many more semi-finished and finished equipments. China has been doing export of lot of plant and machinery.

I'm sure once the world settles down towards the peaceful solution of these two wars, China will again come back to supply more and more equipment, plant, machineries, and there'll be good room available to the Indian industry to export steel to these nations and also to the adjoining countries. In the domestic market, today we are seeing that HRC prices are increased sequentially and remained firm throughout the quarter, while TMT, that is the rebar prices for the construction steel, they opened with a strong note, but after that the demand came down.

During this particular monsoon season, yes, it always happens, the construction activities they are slowed down. We are very much confident that in times to come, say from end of August onwards when the monsoon is receding, the country will come back with again construction boom, supported by Government of India and especially the Indian bankers in terms of extending loans and funds for the capital infrastructure as well as for the construction industry.

We feel a very good future is offing today. As far as Jindal Steel Limited overall plan is, I would like to highlight that today we have a strongest team available.

This strongest team consists a Mr. Rajiv Kumar.

He's a veteran in steel industry. He has a background of more than 35 years.

He worked in Tata Steel and also he has worked in Vedanta as a CEO. Then we have Mr.

Sandeep Modi. He came from Vedanta, and he is a chartered accountant with Master's in Commerce.

He has joined us as a CFO and brought a very good experience to lead the financial team, and to deal with the numbers basically. Then we have very good team available.

We have recently hired a CHRO, Mr. Pasricha.

He has come from IndiGo. Prior to that, he has also worked in many other companies like Airtel, etc.

That team is in place. We have Ms.

Roopali as Head of Marketing, who is with the company for the last many years, more than 20 years. She will be taking care of the complete sales and marketing.

In nutshell, I would say that the team is all in place. We have two very senior directors available in the plant.

One is Mr. Debojyoti.

He's heading the Raigarh plant, who hails again about 30 years of experience, and he also come from Tata Steel. The other gentleman is Mr.

Biju Nair, who was with ArcelorMittal, and he also has more than 30 years experience. He is heading the Angul plant.

Similarly, the people at the other segments, basically the domain, they are all highly experienced, talented people. I'm sure that the team will deliver much better results in times to come.

I am lucky to have such kind of team, and I'm lucky to lead such kind of team from front. Finally, we are committed to bring the company to a different scale in times to come.

Our first and foremost focus is that we should reach to the 100% capacity utilization. This is the first point.

The second point is we want to reduce our cost, because once you increase capacities, with the economy of scales, we reduce cost also. Then we have a very strong team, as I told you, led by Mr.

Rajiv Kumar-ji. He is heading the complete operations.

His specialty is how to control the costs at best opportunity available today. I think we'll be in a position to control the costs also, which will add to the NSR, add to the EBITDA.

Then the next is we have already discussed with our bankers. We have negotiated very good rate of interest, very good, means the lowest one.

The borrowing cost will also come down in times to come. This is what Mr.

Sandeep Modi is on it, and he is doing it. Then as far as the inventory is concerned, we are well within the limit.

We have less than 10 or 11 days of total production as an inventory, which is, I would say, very lean and best in the industry available today. Then the product mix what we have, that is one of the best in the world, I would say, because we are the only company who makes long products, flat products, and the specialty flat products like plates and the quenched and tempered plates.

We make plates, say about 2 million ton today in a year. We are going to increase it to about 2.5 million ton.

Plate is a very basic requirement for the any capital goods industry. Then we have a state-of-the-art hot strip mill, which we commissioned last year.

This mill can produce about 5, 5.5 million ton hot-rolled coils in a year, and that too, value-added grade of coils. We are not in the race of putting more and more hot strip mills or more and more commodity mills.

We are here to utilize our mill to the best of its technical expertise and the technical capabilities and produce more and more value-engineered products than a commodity product. Then after that, we are the only company today in the private sector who produces rails.

Fortunately, today out of the 22 metro rails in the country, at least 18 to 19 metro rails, they are already buying rails from us. These are called head-hardened rails.

Nobody else supplies these rails to the country. In a way, it won't be much adieu to speak that we are 100% supplier to the Indian metro rail services in the country, head-hardened rails, which is a specialty of ours.

Then we produce round billets, which not many people produces in the world. These round billets are specially used for rail wheels basically, the forging of the rail wheels.

Government of India is putting a full effort so that we become self-reliant, Atmanirbhar, in rail wheels, the railway wheels. We produce round billets, which only one more company produces in the country, and this is a great business in terms of consumption and also for seamless pipes and tubes.

This is another product, which is a wonderful product. Then over and above, we have the products like sheet piles, which nobody does in the country today, and we are the only people those who are doing it.

Then some of the specialty angle irons, with heavy section angle irons, which we do. The purpose is that wherever we have the technical superiority and the product mix superiority, those products are to be manufactured on top priority so that this can add value to our system, this can add value to the bottom line, and this can also be treated as value-engineered product.

Thanks to Government of India, Government of India has given a full focus and thrust on the defense industry. What we are doing?

We are producing today the specialty plates, which are tailor-made for the defense industry, especially for the submarines, for the warships, for the oxygen storage, for the nitrogen storage, for the hydrogen storage. These are the specialty steel products.

Our aim is to keep on adding more and more specialty steel products not only through this normal plate mill, but there is a next process called heat-treated plates, that quench and tempered plates. These plates used to be imported in India.

Now Government of India has given a instruction, and I would say it has banned this kind of products coming to the country, we are thankful to Government of India. As far as some imports are concerned, yes, there is a concern.

The flat products, which is I say as a commodity, because hot-rolled coil is a commodity today. The hot-rolled coil, since it is a commodity, yes, many many players in the country, they import hot-rolled coils, especially to the advance licenses.

When they bring against the advance license, they export also. Basically, it doesn't affect the overall scenario in the demand and supply, but yes, it is better if they can also utilize the Indian products, the Indian hot-rolled coils, not only as a specialty hot-rolled coil, but as a commodity coils.

Whenever the prices or the imports are affected, they are reflected as a commodity hot-rolled coils, but whereas we are fully insulated from such kind of products because we are the value-engineered and value-added products. In nutshell, I say that the company's future is excellent, and the team is excellent in place.

There had been some ripples in past, but today with the grace of God and with the decision taken by Board of Directors, we have brought the gems in the organization, and I'm sure the company will flourish, and we will see that the results are coming, and our journey to reach to 100% capacity utilization with minimizing the cost level, etc., everything, we will be in a position to be again a very vibrant company, though we are vibrant today also, but it will be much more vibrant in times to come. Now I stop my speech.

Thank you very much for listening me very patiently. In case of any question, we, myself and my team, or my other colleagues, they'll be happy to answer your queries.

Thank you very much. Now I'll request my colleague, Mr.

Modi. He will address the meet.

Thank you very much, Mr. Modi.

Over to you.

Thank you very much, Sharma-ji. Good afternoon, everyone.

I am delighted to join Jindal Steel at such an exciting phase of its journey. Over the past few weeks, I have had the opportunity to interact with our teams across the plant locations.

What stands out is the exceptional quality of our people, the speed of decision-making, strong capital cost discipline, deep adoption of the Theory of Constraints, and the growing use of AI and digital tools to improve operational and financial performance. Jindal Steel today has one of the strongest integrated business model in the Indian steel industry, supported by world-class assets, captive raw material resources, disciplined capital allocation, and a clearly defined long-term growth strategy.

The successful commissioning of our expansion projects has further strengthened this platform and positioned us well for sustainability and profitable growth. As I assume this responsibility, my priorities will remain: maintaining capital discipline, improving return on capital employed, strengthening cash generation, preserving one of the strongest balance sheet in the sector, and creating sustainable long-term value for all shareholders.

With that, let me provide you with a brief update on our financial performance for Q1 FY27. Consolidated revenue sequentially was around 8% down.

It was largely due to the sales volume resulting from the planned maintenance shutdown, as Mr. Sharma has said.

This was partly offset by around ₹7,500 per ton improvement in our average ASP, that's the average realization, supported by stronger steel prices and a richer product mix. The share of value-added product has increased from 61% in Q4 '26 to 66% in Q1 '27.

As our newly commissioned downstream facilities continue to ramp up, we expect the share of value-added products to increase further, enhancing both profitability and resilience across commodity price cycles. Despite a 15% sequential decline in the sales volume, EBITDA remained resilient, reflecting the strength of our product mix, higher realization, and disciplined cost management.

Consolidated adjusted EBITDA stood at ₹2,667 crore. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA per ton increased by ₹1,843 per ton, taking it to total to ₹11,927 per ton.

This improvement was driven by increase in ASP, partly offset by a $23 per ton increase in coking coal consumption cost, which is in line with our guidance of $20 to $25 per ton of coal, and the lower fixed cost absorption due to lower volumes sequentially. Finance cost charged to the P&L increased to ₹548 crore, primarily due to the capitalization of the major expansion assets during Q4 '26.

Consequently, interest cost relating to these assets are now being recognized through the P&L account for the first full quarter. These assets include the 1,050 MW captive power plant, BOF 3, CRM, and other associated facilities.

Similarly, depreciation expenses increased during the quarter following capitalization of these newly commissioned assets. Consolidated profit after tax for the quarter stood at ₹854 crore.

Our balance sheet remained one of our key strength. Net debt stood at ₹15,927 crore, translating into a net debt to EBITDA ratio of 1.71.

With the ongoing ramp-up of new facilities and continued focus on the cash generation, we remain confident of achieving the ratio below our stated threshold of 1.5x during Q2 '27, and continue to have over the cycle, reinforcing our position as one of the strongest balance sheet in the industry. Our capital allocation continues to remain disciplined.

Against our FY27 capex plan of approximately ₹8,500 crore, we have invested roughly ₹2,000 crore during Q1. Cumulative spend under our expansion program now stands at ₹37,457 crore out of the announced of ₹47,043 crore.

Overall, I would say, as we enter the second quarter, our financial priorities remain unchanged: driving profitable growth, maximizing return for our expanded asset base, maintaining disciplined capital allocation, generating stronger free cash flow, and preserving our balance sheet strength. We remain confident that these priorities will support sustainable value creation for our shareholders over the long term.

With that, I will now open the floor for questions.

Hi. Good afternoon, everyone, and thanks for the opportunity.

First and foremost, I would like to welcome the entire leadership team, and it's great to have Mr. Sharma at the helm again, and Mr.

Modi and of course Mr. Rajiv Kumar.

My question to Mr. Sharma would be, sir, last time when you were there, we went through debt reduction.

The deleveraging happened during that time. Also the ramp-up in the blast furnace, the first blast furnace at Angul.

Now when you are there the second time, what would be your key focus areas, let us say three to four focus areas that you might have thought of, if you can quantify them as well, that would be great. Also any thoughts around further expansion at Angul in terms of crude steel capacity?

That is my first question.

Thank you very much. Thanks for remembering the previous dialogues long back.

There's a reminder to me what is to be done. You ask the question, I'm replying you one by one.

Now the main focus is on the capacity utilization. For example, we have 15.6 million ton of capacity already installed as the crude steelmaking capacity.

How to reach to 15.6 million ton, this is one. Now 15.6 million ton our team, myself, we are not going to convert this 15.6 million ton in a commodity.

Commodity means just making rebars or making hot-rolled coils, we're not interested in that. We want to do something new, something different.

Of course rebars has to be produced as rebars, except for some corrosion resistance steel or something like that. As far as the hot-rolled coils are concerned, we are not pushing our mills to produce a product which is non-value-added grade product.

We want to fetch the best of the best market, and we want to sell this hot-rolled coil not as a commodity, but as a product. That is our next focus.

My colleague, Mr. Rajiv Kumar, had been in Tata Steel, and he has developed more than 500 different grades in Tata Steel, which are truly value-added grade steel.

Now the agenda is how to utilize his skill and how to make all those grades which are available in the world, and they are treated not as a commodity, but treated as a value-added product or value-engineered products. The total capacity today, as I told you, 15.6, that is a crude steel capacity.

There are some gaps, because we are not going to make 15.6 million ton in the current financial year. We are going to end somewhere about 11 or 11.5 million ton.

Where is that gap of 3.5 million ton, you will ask the question maybe today or maybe next year. I'm replying you right now.

What we are aiming for, that we will be, because we are short of metallics today. We would be bringing metallics in the form of HBI, DRI, and also in the form of scrap.

Then we will utilize our assets fully so that we can reach to the level of 15.6 million ton, as we have the crude steelmaking capacity. Now from our own internal resources, means internal blast furnace and electric arc furnace and also existing DRI, we can reach to maybe 11.5 million ton.

With the honing or with the readjustment of the blast furnaces as far the capacity is concerned, then we may even reach to 12.5 million ton. Now the focus area: three.

One, make only value-added products. Two, how to reach to 15.6 million ton with a step in between, with a ladder, and that step is 11.5, then 12.5 million ton, and maybe 13 million ton.

That will be done from the existing resources available, existing blast furnaces, electric arc furnace and DRI, so that we can increase the production there. Then the next question you had asked me, that what is the next future, what are the expansion plans or something like that.

As I told you, we have a strict formula. Last time also, if you remember, I used to speak E and I, earn and invest.

The management has decided that we will be working only on earn and invest. We are not going to burden our balance sheet with the borrowings.

We do not want to take loans. We do not want to borrow the funds to expand in the commodity area.

We will do all those expansion which are required in a value-added products, value-added steel, value-engineered products. For that, if any investment has to be done, we will do.

We don't want to be a part of glut. We want to be a part of specialty products where people come to us, buy goods, they are happy, we are also happy.

Myself, my team, everybody is aligned on that, that we want to grow not at the rate of tons, but at the spending rate of about 7,000 to 8,000 or maybe ₹10,000 crore per year. How many tons will be, that I cannot tell you today because if it is value-added product, maybe tons are less.

Our aim is spend management. We have a budget to spend whatever the earnings we have.

We are sure we'll be having God is kind on us, we'll be having much more earning than this. Part of that earning will be spending on the capex.

Wherever we feel that we are tight, we will not spend on capex. We are not in a race of 30 million, 40 million, 50 million, and every morning we get up and we declare a project, we are not in that.

We want to utilize the hard-earned money in a best way, and my colleague, Mr. Modi, will definitely keep a check on this so that we don't spend extra anywhere, extravaganza is not done.

These are the long-term plan for all of us, and this is what we have taken an oath that or you can say this is the commitment that we do not want to add commodity capacities. We want to be only and only and only value-engineered products.

For that, we are going to spend about 8,000 to ₹10,000 crore year-on-year basis. Hope I answered you.

Thank you.

Thank you, sir. Very elaborate answer.

The second and the last question I have is on the current blast furnace utilization and when we can ramp it up fully, and the status of the slurry pipeline. That's all from my side, sir.

Yes, please. The current We have two blast furnaces in Angul, and we have two blast furnaces in Raigarh.

We have 10 DRI plants in Raigarh, and we have one DRI plant in Angul. Now the status And then, apart from that, we have electric arc furnace in Angul, and we have three electric arc furnaces in Raigarh.

This is the the overall setup. Now your question: the new blast furnace.

This is state-of-the-art new blast furnace, which we have imported, and a similar blast furnace was commissioned just about 10 months ahead of us by Tata Steel. Though Tata Steel took about five years to complete that blast furnace, thanks to our team, the project team, and thanks to the the overall guidelines given by Naveen-ji, our chairman, and we could reach to that with the commissioning time, we could do in, say, 28 to 30 months' time.

This is a great achievement. The this this particular blast furnace can produce up to 13,000 tons per day hot metal.

We have already reached to 11,000 tons per day. Our plan is that after this monsoon season, we'll be in a position to ramp it up to 12,000 tons per day.

By end of December, we'll make it 13,000 tons per day, which will be 100% capacity utilization. Now you may you may ask question that why 10,000, 11,000, then 12,000, and why monsoon season and then 13,000.

Because during monsoon season, there are certain there are certain challenges. Like for example, about a week back, there was a very heavy rain, and this rain was more than 100 in one or two hours' time.

This has disrupted the complete water management, and also this has made the failure of the electrical grid and electrical system. These kind of hiccups, they do come when we are passing through a very rough weather.

It is like flying in a rough weather. I think by August end, the monsoon will recede.

From September, we'll start ramping up. Our team, led by Mr.

Rajiv Kumar and by Mr. Biju Nair and our ED Project, Mr.

Damodar Mittal, they are the expert of steelmaking, ironmaking, and everything. They are committed to bring it to level of about 12,000 ton in the month of September and 13,000 by 13,000 ton by December.

The blast furnace number one is doing again extremely well. The capacity is 10,000 tons per day, but we are doing about 11,000 tons per day from that plant also.

Put together, 13,000 ton per day of from the the blast furnace number two and 11,000 ton per day from blast furnace number one, total will be 24,000 tons per day. Team is all on it, and we are sure that 24,000 tons of hot metal we will be doing every day from these two blast furnaces in Angul.

Already 4,200 tons of from one furnace and another 2,600 tons of the furnace number one in Raigarh, that is 6,800 tons, that is being done under the leadership of Mr. Debojyoti, who is the head of our the Raigarh plant.

That's at 100% capacity utilization. If you see put together, the Raigarh at 3.6 million ton is stable, and when we have 24,000 tons hot hot metal, and this will give us 24,000 tons of steel also, because whatever the yield loss is there, that will be substituting by scrap.

Maybe 24,000, 25,000 tons per day steel will be making. This is going to sport sported the this sport will be from our DRI plant, which is at 5,000 tons per per month per day, and the another electric arc furnace.

Put together, our aim is to reach to a level of about 27,000 ton steelmaking after the monsoon, and then finally we'll reach one day to 30,000 ton steelmaking. This is where we will be seeing that we are crossing the capacities.

Put together, 3.6 million ton from Raigarh, and our aim is 9 million ton from Angul before we add the the scrap or we import the HBI or DRI. This is what our overall plan is.

Hope I answered your question.

Yes, sir. The slurry pipeline status, that was the last one.

Sorry, clarify?

Slurry pipeline.

Slurry pipeline,

yeah. Sorry, slurry pipeline, I missed that.

Slurry pipeline, I'm pleased to inform you that it is all set. End to end, the slurry pipeline is laid.

Now trials are going on. There are some special trials.

We call it in a pigging. Pigging means a real pig made of metal that is passed through.

Then we'll call our collaborators and the technical equipment suppliers. They are from Germany.

Then we will take a trial, first by water and then by slurry. End to end, everything is in line.

Hopefully, you will hear this news very soon, maybe in first half of August, we'll commission it. Once it is done, it is 20 million ton plant and 20 million ton capacity.

This 20 million ton capacity means this will reduce the overall burden on the logistics. Once this is done, then the load on transportation, road transportation will be reduced substantially.

Today we are aiming maybe first half of August, but if the rainy season goes on and there's some problem, then this may delay also. That is not in our hands.

These are uncontrollable factors in life. End-to-end line is laid.

End-to-end pump house, receiving station is made. End-to-end communication is in place.

The equipment, the pumps, trial, etc., are already done. Maybe if the too much of rains, then maybe end of August.

In nutshell, this quarter which is going on, the quarter of July, August, September, hopefully, by the grace of God, we will give a good news to the nation. This is the longest pipeline perhaps in the country, and the largest capacity.

18 million ton is the capacity with 60% of Fe and 35 40% of water. If we can manage with less water, say about 30%, 32%, then this can even go to 20 million.

It depends upon the water and the iron ore ratio, because it depends upon the iron ore's specific gravity, density, and how iron ore behaves in a particular pipeline, because we are going to buy iron ore from the outside parties also. Thank you very much.

Hope I answered this time.

Thanks a lot, sir, and all the best.

Thank you.

Hi. Good afternoon and a warm welcome to the new management, and best wishes ahead.

Sir, just had a couple of questions. First is on the NSR movement.

If you can just indicate what's the pricing like now versus the 4Q average and versus the 1Q average? Where do you see the prices moving for the second quarter if you can just indicate on that, because we have seen a sharp correction in the long prices.

Just your thought on that, please.

My colleague, Roopali Mehra, will answer you, and in case anything else required, I will come back. No problem.

I'm here with you. Roopali, over to you, please.

Thank you. Hi.

Thanks for your question. As we all know, steel works in a manner which is kind of seasonal.

Currently, if we look at the flat prices, for HRC, we've only looked at ₹800 per ton lower pricing with the Q1 '27. If you look at TMT, we are looking at almost 8,000 on the index.

As I said earlier, this is a seasonal weakness which should recover post monsoon.

Sure. Thanks for that.

And Anything else?

Is it okay? Anything else?

Yeah. No, just wanted your thoughts whether we could see further correction or this should kind of settle, because it's been a pretty sharp correction in the long steel.

That's was the question actually.

Yes, actually, this season, it happens. Fortunately, we are insulated to a great extent.

Why? Because when the TMT prices go down, we start increasing portion in the other areas.

Because we have multiple segments, we produce nine different products. If one product is little weak, then definitely we can find place for that material to be sold to the other channels.

Yes, you are right. The monsoon season, it is very less construction, but this also brings lot of opportunities in future.

Though I should not be happy on this. Situation is because one cannot say on this.

There are opportunities. Like if you have lot of floods, then more construction is likely to come in future.

If there are no floods, but still there is a waterlogging, then the government, they spend lot of money, so that next year there should not be any waterlogging. That means more steel, more cement is going to be consumed in times to come.

This is recoverable. We can recover it.

Got it. Also on the coal cost, if you can just indicate the coal cost for 1Q and what is the coal cost assumption or guidance for the second quarter?

I'll tell you. The coal is basically, there are two different things.

I think you are discussing coking coal or you are discussing

Right. Coking coal, yeah, coking coal.

Coking coal it is again demand and supply. Today we are seeing that maybe $15 will be the total increase, about 100 say $15, ₹1,500 in coking coal.

It also depends upon the Chinese factor. What is China factor?

If the Chinese consumption or Chinese steel production go down, then immediately the coal prices also come down. Yes, you are right.

There's a pressure in India because most of the steel mills in India, they are through the blast furnace route, steelmaking, they are buying lot of coal. Nowadays, more than coal, people are importing coke.

If you see the data in last 3 to 4 months' time, the Indian steel mills, they have imported lot of coke from Indonesia and from some other different countries. Yes, $15, you can factor it.

We will see that how we can minimize the cost in terms of blending it properly. The coal is available, it is also available in different forms.

Different blends are also available. The blast furnaces are very capable and flexible in using different coal.

We'll try to blend it so that we are totally not outpriced in the market. This is what we feel.

Sure. Just last question, sir.

Based on what we have done in the first quarter, the full-year guidance remains the same of 10.5 to 11 million ton of sales volume in FY27?

Yes, you are right. We are at the same.

We'll maintain the run rate, rather we'll increase the run rate, because we had taken a shutdown in the quarter one. Why we have taken a shutdown?

Because the shutdown basically, it is not in our hands. We see how many heats we have taken out from a particular vessel, like BOF vessel.

The BOF vessel gives a heat life of about 9,000 heats to 10,000 heats. Whenever it is more than 9,000 heat, we have to stop it to avoid any puncture in the vessel, otherwise that will be a disaster, so that there's no safety bypassed.

We found that in this last quarter, we had to take a shutdown because we produced more number of heats in less number of time. That means because it depends upon the number of heats.

Each heat is 2,500 250 ton. You can say about 2.5 million, 2.2 million if you produce, then we have to change the refractory.

The refractory timing came in this particular first quarter, we cannot wait for the second quarter, we had to do it. This is how we are going to do in future.

Now we have four in Angul, if we are discussing, we have four melt shops, I would say, very simple language. One is electric arc furnace.

Then there was a BOF 1, which is existing since 2011, '12. Then we had two more pots.

These are called BOF 2 and BOF 3, basic oxygen furnace 2 and basic oxygen 3. These two are very new.

We commissioned one six months back and the other is again about six months back together, before March we did it. These two pots are pretty new.

Their 10,000 heats or 9,000 heats will take more time. Till that time, we don't have to take any shutdown.

I'm sure we'll be in a position to recover whatever 300,000 tons of hot metal loss we have done in the quarter one, that we will recover in the subsequent quarters.

Got it. That's all from my side, sir.

Thank you and all the best.

Thank you

so much. Thank you.

Any other question?

Any other question left? I don't want that my some of the colleagues say that I'm not answered.

We can sit for another 5 minutes, no problem. There's any question, you please ask.

Hi. Good afternoon and welcome back, Mr.

Sharma. Just a first question on NSR movement in Q1.

How much was the movement in flats and longs, and was there sale of metallics that you did in Q1? Just could you just specify that?

Sale of metallics we have not done in the Q1. Whatever metallics sometimes we produce also, that is for in-house, it is consumed.

The another point what we always see that a ratio in between price and cost. The steel prices, they go up, go down, and within a gap of 4 to 6 weeks' time, you find that either if the prices have gone up, the input price also increases.

That band is only available for 4 to 6 weeks' time. Losing or gaining, sometimes we say that the prices are going up whereas the input prices are not going up, so that band is also for about 4 to 6 weeks.

Sometimes you feel the prices are going down, but the input cost, that has not gone down. That particular window is also for 4 to 6 weeks' time.

This is a normal behavior of steel business. Yes, you are right.

₹1,000 to ₹4,000 was the reduction, and in different products, but not in the products like rail, rounds, specialty angle, channels, beams, structures, heavy-duty structures, the prefabricated structures, and the specialty plates, the value-added plates, quenched and tempered. It was not there.

I would say, by and large, yes, we took a I would say hit in terms of TMT. Whereas we could maintain and retain the prices in the other segments.

The price change if you see the per metric ton, that was ranging even ₹5,000 a ton.

Sandeep here. Just to confirm the NSR movement, in case of the flat was around ₹7,000 per ton, in case of long around ₹4,500 per ton.

I think that's what your question on the quarter-on-quarter basis.

Longs was up, you mean, 4,500 per ton?

All are up.

Everything is up.

All are up.

Okay. Sure.

And Thank you, sir.

Yeah.

Hello. Thank you for the opportunity.

I hope I am audible. I'll say welcome to the team, and welcome back, Sharma-ji.

My first question is largely directed to Mittal, sir, and also Sharma-ji. Given that the industry typically benefits from stable leadership and long-term management tenures, these relatively frequent changes in the senior management team stands out from Jindal's, right?

Should investors be concerned about the impact of these transitions on strategic continuity and long-term value creation? How do you ensure that execution against your long-term objective remains unaffected?

This is my first question, sir.

Sorry, I missed your basic question. Can I request you to kindly repeat?

Yes, sir. Largely, the industry normally benefit and industry is known for a long tenure, stable management.

There has been frequent changes at the top level at Jindal. Should the investors be worried about the impact of these transitions and on strategy continuity and long-term value creation?

How are you ensuring that all the long-term objectives are remains unaffected despite these changes that are happening, sir?

Thank you very much. You see, as far as the movement of senior persons, that, yes, it is always a area of concern.

We must see that why the people, they take a change or move. Many a times, it is their it is a personal decision by a by an individual.

We have 30,000 people working in the organization, I would say. The the top level, we call CG1 or CG0, if you see that there are only 20 people.

We have very strong upper middle and I would say senior management team, up to Vice President level. We don't find any movement there, which is not normal attrition is always acceptable as per the industry standard, is not a problem, and some people, they do retire also.

At the senior positions, yes, they are very vital resource, and they drive the business. They come to the organization to take the decisions.

For that, we have a we have a advisory board also, and we always put some some task to advisory board to advise us at that time, and they emit there is a need. Advisory board also guide us time to time.

I agree with you that the movement is frequent or more, that is a question of concern, and we are addressing it. This is the reason today you have seen the the board has brought at least eight new faces, and out of these eight faces, I would say two are the old old faces, me and Roopali, and six are the new persons, those who have come at a very senior level, right from CFO to CHRO to our Vice President HR.

They have come. Then we have our COO for the entire operations.

He is the He has come from Tata Steel, Mr. Rajiv.

We have Mr. Biju Nair from AM/NS from not AM/NS, I would say ArcelorMittal.

Europe, he came from there. Then we have a very senior person, Mr.

Debojyoti Roy. He has also come.

He's a big strategist as well as the plant manager, he is heading the Raigarh. Then we have also brought some people for in-house from our other group companies, like we have brought people from Oman, we have brought people from Czech Republic, and they are at a level where they head their domain.

We are confident that we are a stable organization, since at least 1,800 to 2,000 people are in the upper middle level team. These people is a very strong force, strong team.

They they they do it. They are the doers.

They are very much stable, and I'm sure my colleagues and myself, we will put full efforts so that there's you can we can make the company of our dreams so that people, they stay here for longer time. Yes, unless there is some personal issues of someone, that I cannot comment.

Aim is to give the stability, and this will you will see that the the team is stable. More than that, 1,800 people, those who are in the upper middle middle management level, say from Manager to GM or Assistant Vice President or Vice President, they are pretty stable, and they are the force which drives the organization.

Hope I answered you.

Good afternoon and best wishes to the new management team. Sir, my first question is on the cost.

If you see quarter-on-quarter, there's a very sharp increase in cost, almost ₹5,500. If you could break up into top three, four areas of increase?

For the next quarter, we heard about coking coal, but overall, how should we see cost shaping up in the next one or two quarters as a lot of startup-related cost will start receding? Then also, if you can give the update on the coal mix today, when is Utkal B2 expected, and when do we expect to commission the DRI second plant?

Thanks.

My colleague, Mr. Modi, will speak to you.

Hi. If you see from the cost perspective, I would like to give a full breakup so that you understand it better.

There was a this iron-bearing cost increasing around a, say, ₹500 per ton. We had a Middle East conflict impact is around $12 to $13.

Coking coal cost increase, as I said, around $23 per ton. There was a operating leverage on account of the plant maintenance shutdown, which has a lesser production on a quarter-on-quarter basis, that is roughly around ₹2,000 per ton.

That put together, the cost increase is there, which has translated into the overall quarter-on-quarter cost increase. I hope I'm able to give you the what feel so.

Yes. Yes, sir.

Thanks, Sandeep. Just wanted to know how do we see these cost items shaping up in the next one or two quarters?

As Mr. Sharma has already said that for the coking coal cost point of view, while there will be a $12 to $15 a cost increase is expected, however, given the scale of economies and the better production which we will get into the Q2, given that last year Q2, there was a shutdown, which now has been there in because of the refractory life in the Q1.

With that production increase, the operating leverage, which was around ₹2,000 per ton in a Q1, that should not be there. Of course, Middle East conflict impact, I think that's still going on, we need to be watchful about it.

Put together all these things, we should be able to have a better cost structure in the Q2, given the scale of economies and a better production and no plant shutdown.

Hi. Thanks for taking my question.

Let me just continue on the previous question. What kind of cost savings can we expect from the management over the next couple of years with all the initiatives that may play out, whether it is coal mine commissioning, DRI plants, slurry pipelines, conveyor belts?

Also you talked about in your opening remarks that you are having renewed relationship with financial institutions. What kind of interest cost savings can we expect from here on?

Thank you.

One of the key cost saving will come from the slurry pipeline, which I think we have already told in the market, about ₹700 per ton benefit. That, as Mr.

Sharma has said, is coming into the Q2, that you should see a saving. Secondly, I'm talking more about the compared to this quarter.

Second is, as I said earlier in earlier question, about the other this operating leverage, that will also help us to reduce the cost. We already have this time a coal mix of our own captive mines around 50%, and that will also go up with the Utkal B1 getting ramped up and Utkal B2 coming.

That will also help us to reduce the cost. We also have a good news to share about the startup of the first loading at the Jindal port, which also has started, and that will also give us a savings.

I will not be able to quantify at this point of time, but already two vessels has been unloaded and one vessel is going loading as we speak currently. That will also help us.

Put together all these things, I think we are in a really right shape to get the better cost structure. Even in the case of iron ore, we are going more and more backward integration.

Last quarter, we were around 16%, with this currently we are around 28% in this quarter, and a full-year basis, we should be around 40% on an exit basis. That will give us also strategic benefit in terms of the cost structure.

No, I understand that. That's what we are trying to understand, what kind of quantified benefits that may come up maybe by year-end or over the next two years.

I'm not talking about next quarter. What could be the benefit that may come over the next two years is what we are trying to understand.

I think this is Vishal here. If you look at our, while we cannot give you the individual project-by-project cost savings right now for two reason: one, obviously, the savings will grow through the quarters and at the full ramp-up stage, there would be a different level; secondly, if you look at our capital allocation framework where we have clearly mentioned that we will deliver about 18% to 20% ROCE, and you add the nominal depreciation back, you get the guided, or our desired EBITDA from these projects.

From that, you can obviously back-calculate what is the kind of run rate that we are expecting from these projects.

Sir, next

We extended the time for our friends because we are meeting after a long time. So 15 minutes we requested to the organizer to increase so that if the questions are repeating, then I will request please don't repeat.

If is a new question, you're welcome to ask. In case the time is short, then you can also write to Mr.

Vishal, and he can reply on behalf of management. Now any other question if there is, then we can talk.

Hi, sir. Thanks for the opportunity.

Sharma-ji, glad you are back. Thank you so much.

Sir, just two questions. I think I'll just take the Rahul's question.

I'll just follow it up. We heard Vishal's answer.

Sharma-ji, if you could put some number on the cost savings. Knowing you, you definitely would have some number in mind, say over next 2 years, 3 years.

If not possible to bifurcate between iron ore, coal, port assets, slurry, pipe conveyor, any headline comments with some quantification will definitely help. That's one.

Secondly, at the Jindal level, there has been a lot of announcements, MOUs with different states, including thermal, nuclear, steelmaking. How should we look at that in conjunction with the capital allocation framework that you already laid out?

Thank you.

Very good. Thank you for remembering me.

Yes, I'm also glad to interact with you once again. Two questions.

One is cost. There are two costs.

One is cost per ton. The other is the cost impact in terms of incoming material or input cost.

We have today three specialists sitting in this meeting: Mr. Rajiv and Mr.

Biju Nair and Mr. Debojyoti.

They are not only fast bowlers, they are the all-rounders. They're the batsmen.

Their main specialty is how to keep cost under control. We cannot control the input cost like my colleague, Sandeep, told that today there is a war situation, tomorrow where the crude oil will reach, where the coal prices will reach, we are unable to address that because that is out of our hands or uncontrollable factors.

Iron ore is also uncontrollable for us because NMDC and OMC primarily, they decide the prices. That is also uncontrollable.

What is controllable? The controllable is electricity cost, electricity consumption, oil consumption, coal consumption, coke consumption in the blast furnace, oxygen consumption, then how to avoid wastages, how to increase yield.

Today the yield is 98%, how can we bring it to 98.5%, because even 0.5% plays a very vital role. For this, all these three specialists what we have today, perhaps they are the best team available today in the country who can work on this particular cost reduction campaign.

They have already taken it up. I think there is a chance of roughly figures, I'm not committing something, but roughly, because I have to talk to my colleagues also, at least ₹1,000 per ton reduction is possible in terms of cost.

This is what we'll strive at. As far as the input cost are concerns, like oil, coal, coking coal, basically the energy in any form, that will be difficult to comment because these are uncontrollable factors.

Next, your next question was on MOUs. Yes.

As we entered in MOU as a management with the Government of Jharkhand. We are existing in Jharkhand since 2006.

There is a plant called Patratu. So 2006, we took over it from Birla Group, and that was a rolling mill.

We scrapped those old rolling mills, and we put two state-of-the-art new rolling mills, we commissioned in 2010. These two mills are still existing.

One of the mill is for wire rod, and the other mill is for the rebars and rounds also. We can make rebars, we can make rounds.

Nowadays, for example, rebar is not a preferred product, we are making rounds. Rounds gives us another value addition of ₹5,000 to ₹6,000.

Then there, we have land of about more than 300 acres. We can immediately put up a plant of 3 million ton.

What we told to government through the MOU, that if you make the environment which is truly suitable or which is totally supportive to the investments, then we have to add just a steelmaking behind our mills. It is not a full project, I would say, it is half project.

What is half project? We already have two mills, which can produce about 2 million ton easily, maybe more than 2.2 million tons.

What we'll do? We'll put a blast furnace of 2.5, 2.7 million ton capacity, and we will feed these two mills from our own blast furnace.

This is what we discussed with Government of Jharkhand. Before that, there is a condition.

What condition or request we have made to them, that you please allocate us the iron ore. You support us getting iron ore from Jiraldaburu area, which is a rich iron ore block available there.

Actually, we had been working in 2010, '11, '12, up to 2014 to start the Jiraldaburu mines, but due to Environment Ministry, this was not allowed. We are now requesting to government that if you can support us getting us mines, then either through auction or allocation, whatever way, but then we can definitely do this project.

What we have to do? We already have the finishing area.

We have to put the backward area, and there it is easy to put the backward area. We have the space available, land available, water available, electricity available, everything is available.

If the government allows us to mine or we get the iron ore from government, then we can immediately put up this plant. This is what our condition is.

It is an MOU only. We have not committed any investment till these requirements are met out.

The moment these requirements are met out, then we will come to a thorough calculation, we'll discuss with our board, and we will see that how can we put up this plant and where from the funding will be done. We'll be maintaining our mantra of E and I, earn and invest.

We'll not deviate from that. We don't want to burden our balance sheet.

Hope I answered you.

Sure, sir. Thank you so much.

All the very best. Thank you.

Any other colleague want to ask anything? We have another 5 to 6 minutes.

If somebody is not given chance or doesn't speak something because of any reason, then kindly send a mail to Vishal. We will be happy to reply.

If anyone of you want to speak to me, again speak to Vishal. He can arrange a WhatsApp call or a telephone call with me if any clarification is required.

We need your support, we need your full blessings on this company. We want to create a value-engineering company, I would say, to create wealth for the investors and to create wealth for the nation.

I think no more question? Operator, can we move on to the next analyst quickly?

Hi, sir. Good afternoon to the team.

You have already covered most of the questions regarding to your cost savings program. Just a short-term Q2, when we are talking about ₹8,000 corrections in the longs prices and flats are also down ₹1,000, if the prices were to remain steady at current levels and given that the cost reductions and most of the maintenance shutdown now over, can we say that our cost reductions in Q2 versus Q1 will largely cover up for the loss in realizations and margins would largely be flatish at around ₹12,000, which we have seen in Q1?

I think

I think we are going to make a perfect balance in between two. As I told you, whenever the prices are going down, the slowly, gradually in 4 to 6 weeks of time lag, we get the input cost also down.

This is what is going to happen. There is a there is a exception in the month of in the monsoon area, like mid of July or up to August end.

I think after August, this problem will not happen. I'm sure we will be we will not be losing anything in in in terms of costing, and we'll be gaining basically.

As I told you, our aim is Mr. Rajiv and his team, they're already taking aim to reduce cost by ₹1,000 per ton, and we will be in a position to reduce it.

We'll be the ultimate gainer in terms of costs.

Just continuing on this cost, when you talk about ₹700 per ton savings on the slurry pipeline movement of the iron ore, just if we start operating it at a full 20 20 million ton utilization, on absolute basis, how much cost saving would that translate into?

This will be on a full-year basis, you are talking?

On full-year basis.

1.5 million ton, 1.5 million ton slurry we will transport per month. Say about 18 million a year, for example.

We have the now capacity to consume this 1.5 million, but as I told you that the reflection of this will come from September onwards.

No, that's understood, and I appreciate that.

Yeah.

Ravi, just to quickly add, this 18 million ton has been designed not to meet the current round of expansion, but also to meet our future round of expansions. We will not be consuming this entirely in the current year.

Okay. For next year, what sort of utilization we are looking at it, assuming it will be fully stabilized?

A very simple math I'll tell you so that you understand this point very clearly. We have one pellet plant today.

The capacity is 5 to 5.5 million or 6 million ton, this can produce. We are adding another pellet plant of 6 million ton, total will be 12 million ton.

This 12 million ton pellet plant means we can consume about 12.2, 12.3 million ton of iron ore fines through this slurry pipeline. Then after that, we are going to enhance our capacity of the sinter plant, and there'll be another sinter plant coming in.

This sinter plant will be 5 million ton. Another 5 million ton will be consumed.

Put together, 12 plus 5, 17 million ton. This 17 million ton or 18 million ton, this is the math.

Hope I have cleared you.

Hello, sir. Glad to hear I'm joining back.

I have two questions. Firstly, share of value-added products and flats have been going upward consistently.

The only disconnect is how come our unit profitability is not showing that?

Repeat, please. I think it was not audible.

What exactly you asked, actually, not clear. May I ask

Am I audible now?

Better.

Yes, sir. Our share of value-added products and our share of flats on our overall sales has been increasing consistently.

When I look at our EBITDA per ton, that is not reflecting that. Could you explain what could be the one or two reasons for this?

Yes, I'll tell you. The share of value-added products, actually, I think you don't have the access to our product-wise EBITDA.

That is different basically, that's because you get overall EBITDA. The product-wise, like quenched and tempered, what is the EBITDA; plates, what is the EBITDA; heavy-duty plates, what is the EBITDA, that is not published basically.

It is our internal document. Like head-hardened rails, what is the EBITDA.

That is also not revealed in the balance sheet. Because it comes in the overall computation that how much is the total EBITDA.

Somewhere we earn as high as ₹25,000 EBITDA, somewhere we earn only ₹7,000 EBITDA. The aim is today that 50% of the products are high-EBITDA products, where high NSR, high EBITDA.

The other 50 products 50% are the low-EBITDA products. Now we want to switch over from the other 50% with time.

The 50% of low EBITDA, out of that 30%, means say 50% if it is 4 million or 5 million, then out of that, 30% of that, say about 1.5, 2 million, will be on again high-EBITDA products. This is called the value-engineered or value-added products.

This is what we are aiming, and the team is working on this. Under our operation head, Mr.

Rajiv-ji, Rajiv Kumar-ji, he is on it, and his main aim is how to develop all those grades which are available in the world from our mill in the capacity what the mill is having, 6 million ton. Our aim is not to produce 6 million ton commodity, our aim is to produce at least 4 million ton out of 6 million ton as the true value-added steel where we get much more value than what we incur to produce that product.

This is what our aim is.

Thank you so much, sir.

Any other questions, please?

Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you so much.

We have few minutes only now. Over?

Last question. Please take.

Sir, I think we are running very much out of time. Take

last question.

Let's see. Okay.

Last question. Please.

That was the last question? Okay.

Thank you.

I would request Sharma, sir, to give his closing remarks. Over to you, sir.

Thank you, friends, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for listening us very patiently.

I am interacting with you after a long time of 4 years, and it was a pleasure to speak to you, to interact with you. We'll be meeting more frequently, not only on investors' meet after the quarter.

You are welcome to visit our plants, you are welcome to discuss with us, you are welcome to see what we are doing, you are welcome to visit our websites. I request you, please be part of this company as a partner, as a investor partner.

Let us create an environment of positivity everywhere. This is my request, humble request to all of you.

Keep us guiding, and your questions, they always give us a you'll say strength basically. Sometimes we feel that something we are not touching from our management side or in our operations, then when you ask the questions, you all are the financial specialists, you know the numbers well, you can compute well, you can calculate well, you can understand well.

When you convert your thoughts into numbers and numbers into actions, then this gives us a big sport, and this gives us a big strength to revisit our own working and correct ourselves if you are getting wrong somewhere. Keep on guiding us like this, and keep on asking any kind of question where you feel that we need to be changed or we need to make some amendment, alteration, please ask these questions always, not only at investors' meet.

You can always write also. Write to Vishal, and this will come to our complete committee, our board, our senior persons, those who are sitting in this particular meeting, so that we will take the corrective measures immediately.

We take your feedback as a very healthy feedback. This is how we can create value for the shareholders, and we can create value for the company and for the country.

Once again, my sincere thanks to all of you, and namaskar. Thank you.