Operator
Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to Jindal Stainless Limited Q4 FY26 earnings conference call hosted by Ambit Capital Private Limited. As a reminder, all participant lines will be in the listen-only mode and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes.
Should you need assistance during the conference call, please signal an operator by pressing * then 0 on your touchtone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded.
I now hand the conference over to Mr. Satyadeep Jain from Ambit Capital Private Limited.
Thank you and over to you, Mr. Jain.
Satyadeep Jain
Thank you, operator. Good evening and on behalf of Ambit Capital, I thank the management team of Jindal Stainless for the opportunity to host their Q4 FY26 earnings conference call.
We have the following members of management with us today: Mr. Abhyuday Jindal - Managing Director, Mr.
Tarun Khulbe - CEO, CFO and Whole-Time Director, Mr. Kapil Arora - Head of Finance, Mr.
Angad Khurana - Head of Investor Relations, and Mr. Abhishek Gandhi who is the part of IR team.
I now hand over the call to Mr. Angad Khurana.
Thank you all and over to you, sir.
Angad Khurana
Thank you, Satyadeep. Good day, everyone and thank you for joining us for the company's Q4 FY26 earnings call.
I hope you all had a chance to review the results and the accompanying presentation uploaded on the exchanges and on our website earlier. Our discussion on this call will follow that presentation.
Before we begin, I would like to remind you that some of the statements made today may be forward-looking in nature and are covered by the disclaimer on slide two of the earnings presentation. Joining me on the call today is the senior leadership team who will take you through the key business developments and the performance for this quarter.
After the remarks, we will open the floor for the questions. With that, let me hand it over to our Managing Director, Mr.
Abhyuday Jindal, to take you through the highlights. Over to you, sir.
Abhyuday Jindal
Thank you, Angad and a very good evening to everyone. I would also like to welcome you all to our earnings call.
I will begin by outlining the key business highlights for the quarter and year ending March 2026, and the progress we continue to make across our priority sectors. Following that, Mr.
Khulbe will take you through our operational and financial performance. Continuing the positive momentum, our sales volume in FY26 grew by 8% year-on-year, supported by sustained domestic demand amid the volatility in the export market.
In the domestic market, JSL's performance was consistent, underpinned by demand momentum from key sectors such as automotive, ornamental pipe and tube, industrial pipe and tube, railway, metro, lift, elevator, and white goods. Last quarter, we had initiated a calibrated shift in our brand strategy to complement our strong B2B leadership with a sharper consumer-facing presence.
The onboarding of Ranveer Singh as the company's first-ever brand ambassador and the launch of a nationwide multimedia campaign marks a structural step-up for our national brand presence. The Jindal Infinity campaign focuses on authenticity and informed choice, addressing long-standing issues of counterfeiting and quality opacity in key segments such as pipe and tube, while reinforcing stainless steel relevance.
In parallel, we have also associated with Sunrisers Hyderabad to leverage the cultural scale and emotional equity of cricket to deepen engagement with younger and mass audiences. Together, these initiatives will help strengthen top-of-mind recall, support channel partners through co-branded outreach, and enhance long-term brand equity as consumption-led applications of stainless steel scale up across India.
We believe the timing is appropriate as we enter our next phase of growth, with brand building acting as a strategic enabler of demand creation, differentiation, and sustained value creation. Stainless steel demand in the passenger coach segment also saw increased traction from strong growth.
The modern AC coaches, which use both shell and stainless steel underframes, will contribute to the demand of stainless steel for coach manufacturing. Higher activity in metro projects across the country also supported the strong delivery momentum.
Going forward in FY27, several new metro projects are slated to go on stream in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Gurugram, and Delhi. With export demand for India-made metro coaches also picking up, the demand for stainless steel is expected to witness a jump of two to three times over the next three to four years.
The Indian lift and elevator industry is expected to witness steady growth in FY27, driven by urbanization, infra development, rising demand for efficient vertical transportation systems. Developments in Middle East continue to influence energy markets and global supply chains.
The ongoing situation has affected the availability of key industrial gases, including propane, LPG, natural gas, ammonia. In parallel, disruptions in shipping lanes have resulted in route diversions, extended transit periods, and intermittent cargo delays, adding pressure on logistics and cost structure.
We are monitoring the situation closely for improved clarity around fuel allocations and the normalization of supply conditions. On the export front, global trade sentiments continue to remain subdued due to ongoing trade and geopolitical uncertainties.
Despite these headwinds, JSL demonstrated strong execution capability, delivering higher export volumes on a quarter-on-quarter basis, maintaining a focus on expanding into markets such as Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Germany. Inferior imported materials continue to enter India at a large scale.
The temporary suspension of QCO is a matter of concern and poses a discouraging setback for quality-focused domestic industry players. We remain hopeful that the government will strengthen and enforce frameworks that uphold quality standards to protect consumers and MSMEs alike.
In this environment, Jindal Stainless retains its market share through its agility, cost competitiveness, and a customer-first approach. On sustainability front, JSL continued its streak of ESG excellence, achieving an EcoVadis score of 71 out of 100 in Q4 '26 with a bronze medal recognition.
In parallel, our continued commitment towards a cleaner and more resilient energy mix saw the partial commissioning of a 315 MW solar-wind hybrid power project in collaboration with Oyster Renewable Energy this quarter. At JSL, we remain steadfast and continue to march towards our long-term decarbonization goals.
With this, I would like to hand over to Mr. Khulbe to discuss our operational and financial performance.
Thank you.
Tarun Khulbe
Thank you, Abhyuday. Good evening, everyone.
Welcome to the call. I would like to begin by providing a detailed overview of our operational and financial performance.
Despite geopolitical headwinds, our Q4 FY26 deliveries were at 0.64 million tonnes, remaining steady on a year-on-year basis. Our Q4 consolidated EBITDA increased by around 37% year-on-year and around 3% on quarter-on-quarter to ₹1,455 crore.
Our consolidated PAT stood at ₹824 crore, an increase of around 41% on year-on-year and around 1% on quarter-on-quarter basis. For FY26, our deliveries stood at 2.57 million tonnes with an increase of around 8% year-on-year.
Consolidated EBITDA increased by around 19% year-on-year to ₹5,560 crore, and consolidated PAT stood at ₹3,185 crore with an increase of around 27% year-on-year basis. We are pleased to report continued improvement in our balance sheet.
As of March 31, 2026, our consolidated net debt has further reduced to ₹3,040 crore, with a net debt to EBITDA ratio at 0.55x, comfortably below 1, and a net debt to equity ratio of 0.15x, reflecting our disciplined approach to financial management. This robust financial management continues to place in the better position to navigate ongoing macroeconomic challenges.
On our subsidiaries front, all subsidiaries have shown improvement and contributed positively to the group's overall EBITDA. The announced capex plan is progressing well and remains on track.
The 1.2 million tonnes per annum stainless steel melt shop in Indonesia is successfully commissioned ahead of schedule, taking the company's total melting capacity to 4.2 million tonnes per annum, including 3 million tonnes per annum in India. In parallel, downstream expansion projects in India are advancing as planned, including the upcoming commissioning of a 1.1 million tonnes per annum HRAP line and a 0.17 million tonnes per annum CRAP line at Jajpur.
To further strengthen downstream integration, the company announced an additional INR 900 crore commitment towards augmenting cold rolling capacities at Hisar and Kharagpur. With these investments, our value-added capabilities will be enhanced, increasing CRAP capacity to 2.67 million tonnes per annum by FY28 and aligning the expanded melt capacity with downstream readiness.
This integrated expansion will support our sales volume target of 3.5 million tonnes per annum by FY29, translating into a robust double-digit compounded growth over the next three years. Jindal Stainless Steelway Limited, a subsidiary of JSL Group, has commenced operation in its first stainless steel fabrication at Patalganga near Mumbai.
Built with an initial investment of approximately ₹125 crore, the facility marks a strategic milestone in our journey towards offering integrated end-to-end solution for India's infrastructure sector. This reinforces our positioning beyond material supply into value-added fabrication, while supporting sustainable and long-life infrastructure development.
I am pleased to announce that in addition to interim dividend for FY26 of ₹1 per share, the board has recommended a final dividend of ₹3 per share with a face value ₹2 each, subject to approval of shareholders at the ensuing annual general meeting, aggregating to a payout of nearly ₹330 crore in total for FY26. The quarter witnessed energy-related constraints emerging amid geopolitical uncertainties affecting West Asia, a key sourcing region for industrial fuels such as propane, LPG, and natural gas that are critical to stainless steel manufacturing.
Despite this, Jindal Stainless remains committed to maintaining operational resilience and supply chain stability. The company continues to proactively monitor global developments and adapt its strategies to ensure sustained growth and business continuity in the times ahead.
India's stainless steel demand remains resilient, supported by robust fundamentals. Stainless steel continues to have a bright future as India's inevitable meteoric rise continues to unravel.
With that, I conclude my remarks and invite the moderator to begin the question-answer session. Thank you.
Operator
Thank you very much, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin with a question and answer session.
Anyone who wishes to ask questions may please press * and 1 on their touchtone phone. If you wish to withdraw yourself from the question queue, you may press * and 2.
Participants are requested to use only handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles.
The first question is from the line of Parthiv Jhonsa from Anand Rathi. Please go ahead.
Parthiv Jhonsa
Hi. Thank you for the opportunity.
Congratulations on a great set of numbers despite gas disruptions. My first question is pertaining to the guidance.
I believe, sir, just gave a guidance of 2029. Is it possible to give some volume growth guidance as well as EBITDA guidance for '27?
Because that's very immediate, and considering the current global headwinds, if you can give a guidance.
Tarun Khulbe
In terms of volume growth for FY27, we are expecting at least 8% to 10% growth. 7% to 9%, sorry.
7% to 9% growth in volume this year, and for EBITDA per tonne, looking at the kind of uncertainty there is, till H1 of this year we are giving a guidance of 18,000 to 20,000 EBITDA per tonne, and depending on the situation, maybe after six months we might revise this figure also.
Parthiv Jhonsa
You have actually sticking to that 18-20,000 range despite the overhang from the Middle Eastern crisis.
Tarun Khulbe
Correct, correct. We're still confident of delivering 18 to 20 and give at least a 7% to 9% volume growth in the entire year.
Parthiv Jhonsa
Okay. Sir, just to take this particular question forward, I believe there would be some volume disruption due to this entire crisis in the month of March, right?
What would be the volume disruption and what is the quantum of gas you have started receiving or the impact is there, especially for the first quarter?
Tarun Khulbe
Because availability has picked up at a higher cost, we don't see availability as a challenge in the month of May, but cost has significantly gone up.
Parthiv Jhonsa
What would be the impact, sir, from this one particular cost, the cost increase, on the EBITDA level?
Tarun Khulbe
Again, it's the same thing. We still stick to our blended guidance.
Despite this cost going up, we're still confident of delivering 18 to 20.
Parthiv Jhonsa
Sir. Sir, quick question, just if you can give a break up of the 200, 300, 400 series.
Angad Khurana
Sure, Parthiv. For Q4 FY26, 200 series was around 38%, 300 series was around 43%, and 400 series was around 19%.
Parthiv Jhonsa
Perfect, perfect. Thank you so much, sir.
If any further questions, I'll join back in the
Tarun Khulbe
queue.
Operator
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Alok Deora from Motilal Oswal.
Please go ahead.
Alok Deora
Hi, good evening. Sir, just had a couple of questions.
First is on the export side. Export proportion has come down and it's lower than what we used to do on a normal state basis.
Just wanted to understand what's happening there and where can we see some normalization, and if you can guide some export, how much would be exports in FY27?
Tarun Khulbe
Export, as we can see that for the year FY26 it is having a share of 8% of our total sales, which was in FY25 it was 9%, 1% lower, but on the expanded base. Now export market has different time having different challenges, we can say uncertainties, but as a company, we are able to still sail through and maintain our share.
We are still able to manage with our important market of Americas, both North and South America. We are trying to develop newer markets or trying to increase our footprints into the newer markets.
Right now, yes, due to again this war the disruption happened, but still we are continuously working. Even with the CBAM coming and creating disruptions, but with whatever we have done and our relationship with the customers there, we are still able to manage a certain level of volume, and with all these efforts we believe even with our increased guidance of 7% to 9% of volume increased guidance what we have given, still we should be able to manage a share of 8% to 10% of export in that increased volume.
Alok Deora
Got it, sir. Sir, on the EBITDA per tonne, 18,000 to 20,000 the range which we are giving for the 1H, we are more than nearly 20, we are comfortably above 20 in the current run rate basis.
Is it that kind of pressure which we are seeing in the cost in the first quarter that we are scaling down on the EBITDA guidance for 1H?
Tarun Khulbe
No, it's basically the uncertainties. See, like I said, the cost has gone up, and everything we are not able to pass on to our customers because our competitors, importers, the people who import material, those companies, in those countries the cost has not gone up.
Definitely because of this we feel that 18 to 20 is possible
Alok Deora
for H1.
Tarun Khulbe
For H1, and then we definitely review the whole thing, because this cost increase has been very sharp and sudden, and it is not only in fuel, even in the utilities like ammonia, and acids, all these consumables were also impacted. Sure,
Alok Deora
sure, got it, sir. That's all from my side, sir.
Thank you and all the best, sir.
Tarun Khulbe
Thank you.
Operator
Thank you. We'll take the next question from the line of Amit Dixit from Goldman Sachs.
Please go ahead.
Amit Dixit
Hi. Good evening, everyone, and thanks for the opportunity.
Congratulations for a good set of numbers this quarter. A couple of questions from my side.
The first one is essentially the standard one on regulatory environment. While stainless steel demand outlook looks good, but there has been absolutely no, I would say, measure from the government for controlling imports.
In fact, QCO suspension, all these are quite detrimental for us, and we are looking to expand further in Maharashtra and also. Just wanted to understand the thought process, your thought process in particular, given that we are in a dichotomous situation where we are expanding, but government is not coming with any support.
What gives us so much confidence to expand? That is my first question essentially.
Tarun Khulbe
Absolutely a very valid point and valid concern. This is true that this QCO, which was to ensure a certain quality level of product being produced and used within the country, suspension of that opens the gate for the import of substandard product as well.
This definitely impacts the sentiment and creates a confusion amongst the stainless steel industry that what exactly they should be doing, because there is a big portion of even MSMEs and small players who have spare capacities available with them, they were believing that with the improved capacity utilization they were also planning to expand and create more capacity, and this kind of sudden policy change, even though it is for six months only, definitely creates a bit of confusion. Now coming to we as a company, okay, the sentiments and all these things definitely impact, but we also have our strength.
We have diverse portfolio of products. We serve each area of the stainless steel consumption, and beyond that, also we have been seeing that there is also a mind shift, I will say, in the user that we could see that earlier people used to make their consumption decision based on the L1 basis, lowest cost.
Now we see that people are considering life-cycle cost for making a decision while choosing a product. There, stainless steel gets an advantage, and we could see many new application where stainless steel is getting accepted and being used even in the infrastructure, and we believe that this trend should continue because people are interested in creating products when it comes to mobility, which are lightweight and more energy efficient, when it comes to infrastructure, which is long-lasting, maintenance-free.
This kind of acceptance also gives us a confidence that going forward, stainless steel will grow even beyond the natural growth whatever it is having, and we as a company, we believe that we should be ready to serve these requirements in the future.
Abhyuday Jindal
Absolutely, Amit, like Mr. Khulbe said, and dialogue with the government is consistently on.
Already like he said that we are approaching the government as an industry that the MSME sector, the producers who were willing to expand and increase their capacity, they will be negatively impacted. QCO was protecting our borders from substandard material, was giving confidence to MSME to expand further.
We as a company, as we always share, we are always at the higher end of the stainless steel value chain, supply chain, and we continue to be present there and grow that market share as well. The other side, apart from QCO, we are also working on anti-dumping.
They are appointing verifiers in Q1 this quarter, and that anti-dumping investigation process should also continue.
Amit Dixit
That's great to know. The second one is essentially on defense.
Now you have highlighted in the press release that we have been supplying in defense sector. Now typically defense sector involves a long approval process, and it's very heartening to know that you have crossed the bridge.
Just wanted to ask, because the defense prospects are quite bright in the country with a lot of domestic platforms being built, just wanted to understand that what are the other new products or new grades of steel we are developing, if possible to share what kind of platforms we would be engaging in, and also if you have in mind something of, I know it's currently very small, but later say five years hence, what could be the portion of revenue from defense segment?
Abhyuday Jindal
Amit, defense being such a critical area, I would not like to on a open forum share what kind of products or applications we're working upon, but it's in a variety of areas from land systems to air systems to drones in every area to our always with our satellite launches, we're all part of. If I can say more focus is more towards aerospace.
That's where we see good traction coming in and we see good volumes coming in, and defense like I said already land systems good work is happening. Because being very strategic and very critical, I would not like to share, but what I can say is this year also we will be showcasing some very interesting products made out of Jindal Stainless material.
Amit Dixit
Sure. Maybe I will discuss with you one-on-one on this.
Abhyuday Jindal
One-on-one is better, it's a little critical and they also request us not to share.
Amit Dixit
No, fair enough. Sure.
Great. Thanks for the opportunity, and congratulations for good performance and best of luck.
Operator
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Ritesh Shah from Investec.
Please go ahead.
Ritesh Shah
Hi, sir. Thanks for the opportunity.
Congratulations on good set of numbers. Sir, I have a lot of questions.
Sir, first is our balance sheet is in the best of shape. How should we look at incremental growth capex, specifically Maharashtra, if you can also qualitatively help us understand how you are planning to start from downstream, then upstream, land acquisition?
I think that's the first question. Sir, I'll just wait over here.
I'll let you answer, then I'll come to the second question.
Abhyuday Jindal
Absolutely like you said, exactly the first process is on of land acquisition, and a substantial portion has been acquired already, but we still expect most of this year to go in land acquisition, and then we will start like you mentioned. First, you would like to put up downstream capacity and subsequently very fast come up with up-streaming as well.
We are still everyday this is being worked upon, and probably we need another few months to come out with a clear-cut plan, but absolutely as of now land acquisition is in full force in Maharashtra at the moment.
Ritesh Shah
Great. Sir, what should be the capex number that one should bake in for '27 and '28 overall at the company level?
Abhyuday Jindal
Not for Maharashtra you're saying, you're saying overall now.
Tarun Khulbe
For FY27 our capex guidance is around ₹2,800
Abhyuday Jindal
crore.
Tarun Khulbe
₹2,600
Abhyuday Jindal
crore for FY27, yeah.
Ritesh Shah
Sir, for '28?
Abhyuday Jindal
We will come back to you on that one.
Ritesh Shah
Sure. Sir, just moving to the second question.
How should we look at the profitability of RKEF? I think it would be throwing amazing cash flows right now.
Possible to give some color over here, its contribution at the EBITDA level? How should we read into it?
That's the second question first part. The second question second part is 1.2 million ton slab from Indonesia, basically how should we look at the contribution on the numerator and the denominator when we look at incremental EBITDA per ton?
Abhyuday Jindal
RKEF business, that is a nickel business. Even in the past, we have discussed that when we have made the investment, essentially just to recall that strategically it is more for the raw material security.
Yes, from the return point of view, it's a bit volatile business. In the past, we had given a guidance that anything from $500 to $1,500 per ton of nickel kind of EBITDA we can expect, but with the sharp increase of nickel in the last quarter, the actual EBITDA has come around $3,000 per ton.
Ritesh, these things keep on changing very fast because Indonesian government also, they keep on adjusting the nickel ore prices also accordingly. Their also formula keeps on changing, but this is the current position on it.
The current financial numbers are. Now, so far as our this melt shop is concerned, we intend to bring the slabs over here and process in India.
In a way, it's like
Tarun Khulbe
that putting up a melt shop there in place of over here strategically placing ourselves in order to be at a place where the nickel is. That whatever EBITDA guidance we are providing, that will have the value chain including from the
Abhyuday Jindal
Taking that into account also, we've given the 18 to 20 for H1 guidance.
Ritesh Shah
Sure. Sir, Khulbe sir, just to get a clarification on the $3,000 per ton number, I understand, please correct me if I'm wrong, 200 kt 14% nickel content, are we looking at 28 kt $3,000 into our stake of say 50%?
Is that the right way to
Tarun Khulbe
Ritesh, it varies. It depends upon the ore quality also keeps on changing and accordingly the nickel output also keeps on changing, but whatever the nickel production comes out, for the last quarter it was around $3,000 per ton.
Ritesh Shah
Right. Sir, what I'm trying to appreciate is the underlying EBITDA per ton if we had to strip out this nickel-led volatility.
That's what I was trying to if you could help understand that.
Tarun Khulbe
This, I think
Abhyuday Jindal
Angad can get back to you with this calculation.
Ritesh Shah
Sure. Just coming to the next question, sir, you did indicate on incremental HRAP and CRAP capacities.
Are we looking at some imbalance over the next six months till the HRAP facility comes up in Jajpur, or if could help us with the timeline on both by month for HRAP as well as CRAP just to appreciate the mass balance? Ritesh.
Tarun Khulbe
One thing I appreciate your concern, but some of our equipments what we have invested in the past, they have the capability of doing both HRAP as well as CRAP, so that gives us a flexibility, and also depending upon requirement, our investments in Indonesia gives us a flexibility even to get the coils in place of slab, so that also the possibility remains with us. We are confident of balancing our needs as the
Abhyuday Jindal
As the market demands.
Ritesh Shah
Sure. Just last question I'll squeeze in.
Sir, you indicated a lot of gases in your starting remarks, which potentially had some impact on the operations. How are we looking to mitigate this assuming the Middle East situation doesn't improve?
Any mitigation measures that you would like to highlight that would be
Abhyuday Jindal
Absolutely. Already a lot of effort is happening, Mr.
Khulbe can Yeah.
Tarun Khulbe
Ritesh, it is like this. When this disruption happened as soon as the war started, at that moment, our primary gaseous fuel in both our integrated steel plants at Jajpur and Hisar was propane and LPG, whereas in our Kothari, Mundra plant, natural piped gas we use as a fuel.
Then what we realized that on the LPG, the government straight away put a ban because they wanted to keep it or they allocated those quantities for the public use, not for the industrial use. On the natural gas, there was a disruption.
They reduced the quantity, but never stopped, and very quickly we found them increasing the availability of the natural gas. Looking at this, we realized that we need to diversify ourselves.
In our Jajpur plant, already we have worked on using natural gas also, and a portion of it which in fact we have started using it, which we will gradually increase, we are working on it. Hisar plant also we are looking in the longer term what can be done, and even in Jajpur and at other places, coal gasification plants and syngas, these are also the possibilities.
Abhyuday Jindal
East India we will look towards coal gasification and syngas, piped natural gas wherever we can include, and also to replace ammonia, we're going for green hydrogen. Already in Jajpur 600 Nm3 plant will be up and running in June-July, and Hisar also at 90 will increase to 400 almost in the next few months.
That way in all fronts to ensure that this impact doesn't come, we're already working on it.
Tarun Khulbe
Yeah. Even in our Ghaziabad plant, we are now working on the piped
Abhyuday Jindal
natural gas for Ghaziabad also.
Tarun Khulbe
In a way, we have started taking actions on multiple fronts so that in future we
Abhyuday Jindal
are not impacted by any disruption.
Tarun Khulbe
At least our risk is mitigated.
Ritesh Shah
Perfect, sir. Thank you so much for elaborate answers.
Thank you so much.
Operator
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Pinakin from HSBC.
Please go ahead.
Pinakin Parekh
Thank you very much, sir. Given the 1.2 million ton Indonesian JV has now been commissioned, can you again walk us through how that facility will be utilized, whether you'll bring it to India or sell it from there, and how the accounting will work?
Should we assume the entire flow through into EBITDA and then a minority interest going out, or a 50% attributable? Just trying to understand that.
Tarun Khulbe
At this stage, our intent is to bring the slabs to India and then process them over here.
Abhyuday Jindal
From the accounting perspective, since it is a subsidiary, it will get line-by-line consolidated in our numbers, and as per the accounting standards, the minority share will be calculated and shown separately.
Pinakin Parekh
Understood. Does the FY27 guidance of 8% to 10% and 18,000 to 20,000 rupee EBITDA per ton built into some volumes from this capacity?
Yes,
Abhyuday Jindal
our business plan is accordingly built. The guidance of 7% to 9% on the volume and 18 to 20 on the EBITDA per ton factors that.
Pinakin Parekh
Thank you. My second question is on Indonesia, right?
There has been a lot of noise and news about policy intervention from the government, whether it is on nickel, whether it is on coal. What is the company's view of the regulatory outlook or the framework over there, and are there any potential risks to the Indonesian operations from any change in policy?
No, so
Abhyuday Jindal
that is exactly why if you see our timing was absolutely on point because we already started hearing Indonesian government talking of restriction, talking of duty, which is why at stage one we went and invested in our RKEF so that Indonesian government was talking about banning nickel ore export, so that way we invested in NPI. Now already government is talking about further value addition should happen in Indonesia, further restrictions like you yourself are saying could come, which is why we took that step and went and invested in a steel melt shop there also, stainless steel melt shop there also.
Now even Government of India is encouraging these kind of investments because they have realized that nickel is not available in the country, 70% to 75% of the world's nickel supply comes from Indonesia, it was absolutely logical step for a company of our size to go to Indonesia. Because you've taken these measures, we foresee no restriction from Indian government or Indonesian government should come on Jindal Stainless.
Pinakin Parekh
Got it. This is very, very helpful.
Thank you very much.
Operator
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Vikas Singh from ICICI Securities.
Please go ahead.
Vikas Singh
Hi, sir. Good evening and thank you for the opportunity.
Sir, my first question is after all this renewable power thing which we are doing, how should we look at our products acceptability in the European market which currently going through the CBAM process? Have we got any data or like steel got €75 kind of the CBAM cost, have we got anything like that?
Abhyuday Jindal
That is a similar, I think the default value they're putting on all metal companies, on steel, stainless steel at the moment is similar kind of value like you're saying. Apart from that, I think we all are waiting for verifiers to get appointed by European Union.
That is something that the step has to be taken at their end. We as a company are completely geared up.
Already 85% plus on scrap, moving more and more to renewable energy, green hydrogen, working with our suppliers already to work on their supply chain to add more green products. We are absolutely ready as a company.
We have already gone and got scores of various agencies, domestic and international. We're actually waiting for European Union to give us some more information, show us more I would say show us more light of the way forward, because we as a company have done pretty much everything or most things are in the pipeline at the moment.
Vikas Singh
Noted, sir. Sir, my second question pertains to our basically mix.
If I'm not incorrect, previously we were supposed to get the Indonesian slab, get it rolled it here, and then sold in the market.
Abhyuday Jindal
However,
Vikas Singh
considering your guidance, it doesn't seems like that either we are utilizing that facility fully or the domestic facility to the full extent. Just wanted to understand the See, the
Abhyuday Jindal
melt shop has just come online right now, any melt shop does take time to stabilize and to give output. That's why we're quite confident in our balancing, I would say.
Mr. Khulbe can add, and we have that combo line,
Vikas Singh
if
Abhyuday Jindal
the way the market demands, we are quite flexible to change our product range also.
Vikas Singh
Noted. Sir, let me put it in other way.
If I should look at including the Indonesia capacity and the timelines between your Maharashtra facility may come up, shall we assume that for the next three to four years, we would probably more like an 9% to 10% volume growth story before the Maharashtra comes in, even though the international situation normalizes?
Abhyuday Jindal
We have already given this statement that by FY29 we are targeting to be a player of around 3.5 million, which answers practically all your questions.
Kapil Arora
3.5 million sales.
Abhyuday Jindal
Yeah, 3.5 million sales, because all our capex whatever we have announced, they're aligned to that, and this is after taking care of all our investments declared in the past and recently what we have announced, and all that is going to take care of it.
Vikas Singh
Noted, sir. That's all from my side and all the best for future.
Abhyuday Jindal
Thank you.
Operator
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Renjith Sivaram from Mahindra Manulife Mutual Fund.
Please go ahead.
Renjith Sivaram
Hi sir. Just wanted to understand what are the cost pressures if you can just give us some color on that.
What's our dependence, how much of LPG or natural gas are we dependent on and how much has the cost of this increased, and is there any quantification to that?
Abhyuday Jindal
In terms of cost like we mentioned has gone up close to 2.5 to 3x of what we were paying. I'm not understanding the first part in terms of how much do we consume you are asking?
Renjith Sivaram
Yeah. That we are able to quantify that.
You have told that
Abhyuday Jindal
No, honestly I don't have those figures with me right now, and that is something that possibly we would not like to share. That's why even with this cost increase, I'm giving you the EBITDA per ton guidance of 18 to 20, factoring in this cost increase.
Renjith Sivaram
We are able to pass on these prices, that's what you mean to say.
Abhyuday Jindal
No, I'm not saying that also. Some cases we are, some cases we are not, and we have to look at our competitors in mind also.
Leading to all these factors, like I said, sometimes we are, sometimes we're not, and that's why the blended rate is something that we're quite confident of achieving.
Kapil Arora
These prices are also fluctuating.
Abhyuday Jindal
There's so much uncertainty that you don't know what will happen.
Renjith Sivaram
Sir. Thanks.
Abhyuday Jindal
Thank you.
Operator
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Satyadeep Jain from Ambit Capital.
Please go ahead.
Satyadeep Jain
Hi, thank you. Sir, some follow-up questions to some of the earlier questions have been asked.
The Indonesia SMS is now up and running, the Jajpur HRAP will come certain later in the year, you do have the capability to maybe get some coils. Just trying to understand the scenarios you're looking at for FY27.
You're also looking at a possibility that you get some slab and give it on job work basis till the HRAP comes, and is that part of the guidance you're looking at for FY27? FY27
Abhyuday Jindal
guidance, volume guidance already we have provided, which is 7% to 9% and that takes care of all these uncertainties, but already we made a statement that we have equipments which can do both HRAP as well as CRAP on one hand, and also we are having the possibility of getting the coils from outside directly from Indonesia.
Satyadeep Jain
Basically, you've given EBITDA per ton guidance for 1H, but if we look at the entire year, this getting slab, because you have the capability, will not impact EBITDA per ton on those volume, right?
Tarun Khulbe
Just trying to understand volumes are there, but there will be no EBITDA. Volume we have given, EBITDA H1 purposely when Mr.
Jindal was giving he also stated that so much of uncertainty of the cost movement, this gas availability and movement, and that is why we said that while we are providing this volume guidance for the whole year, and EBITDA guidance for H1, but then we'll be reviewing it at the H1 and then basis the situation we can revise, yeah.
Satyadeep Jain
Okay. The 3.5 million ton you've guided to for FY29, if we look beyond FY29 also, do you need Maharashtra for further volume growth beyond '29, or with the existing capacity, how do we look at volume growth beyond '29?
See
Abhyuday Jindal
definitely after FY29 Maharashtra is going to be our major focus, but that doesn't mean that if there is any delay at Maharashtra level then we will not be able to add further equipments in Hisar and Jajpur, or even Mundra now. We feel quite comfortable that we'll be able to maintain our market share in the future as well.
Tarun Khulbe
We'll keep on evaluating the situation and basis the
Abhyuday Jindal
There is potential to grow in other plants, but we would prefer that most of the growth after FY29 comes towards Maharashtra, but we are open to all kind of options.
Satyadeep Jain
Lastly, sir, what's the status on the blast furnace?
Abhyuday Jindal
That is not part of JSL, we don't generally discuss that on this call.
Satyadeep Jain
Thank you so much.
Abhyuday Jindal
Thank you.
Operator
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Rajesh Majumdar from 360 ONE.
Please go ahead.
Rajesh Majumdar
Good evening, sir, and thanks for the opportunity. My question has two parts.
Firstly, for FY26, what is the breakup between 200, 300, and 400 series?
Abhyuday Jindal
For
Rajesh Majumdar
FY26,
Kapil Arora
200 series was around 37%, 300 series was 46%, and 400 series was 18%.
Rajesh Majumdar
Yeah. My second part is that if you look at the 400 series, which I think couple of years ago you were talking about as a very fast-growing space and infrastructure series, and we were quite optimistic on that, if you look at it over the years, it has come down from 27% to 18%.
Now, while you highlight the infrastructure products, etc. in your presentations, is that a matter of concern that this 400 series is falling over the years?
Abhyuday Jindal
Well, 400 series definitely we want it to grow, but at the same time as the business evolves, as the market requirements and demand evolves, that also accordingly we also have to change our product mix. Under the current products what we are dealing with, under the current market demand what we have, and as you can see that 92% of our market share is from the domestic, yeah, that is not allowing us to go very aggressively on the 400 series,
Tarun Khulbe
but our focus
Abhyuday Jindal
to meet the requirements, but we'll keep on working.
Tarun Khulbe
If you see already small example, but already year average was 18, but already Q4 400 series has picked up to 19 to 20. As a company, our focus is EBITDA maximization, and we have to fulfill the requirements of the domestic market and customers, and then always development efforts are towards 400 series.
Auto is picking up, infra will pick up also in the next few years.
Abhyuday Jindal
Just to add, while in terms of percentage for FY25 the 400 series was 17% and for FY26 it is 18%, while you see only 1%, but this increase is also on the larger base.
Tarun Khulbe
At a higher volume.
Abhyuday Jindal
On the larger base. That is also the situation.
Rajesh Majumdar
Would it be safe to assume that we can assume a creeping increase in this percentage over a period of time, is that the expectation? Yeah.
Abhyuday Jindal
Absolutely.
Rajesh Majumdar
We've been
Abhyuday Jindal
seeing that in our performance also.
Rajesh Majumdar
That would be positive for our EBITDA per ton, right?
Abhyuday Jindal
Absolutely. Like I said, if it is not going to add value to our EBITDA per ton, then we would not do it only.
Rajesh Majumdar
Sir. Thanks for that.
My second question was you've talked about Jindal Defence and Aerospace separately this time in a commercial order. Now I was going through the website of this company and it has a lot of potential.
What is the size of this company and do we have any plans down the line
Abhyuday Jindal
It's not a different entity. It's not a different entity, it's part of JSL only.
It's not a company that we've created. It was just given to create a more of a presence and a branding kind of play.
It's part of the whole entire JSL setup.
Rajesh Majumdar
It's not a separate company.
Abhyuday Jindal
No.
Rajesh Majumdar
Okay. Thanks.
Thank you.
Operator
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Mehul Panjwani from 40 Cents.
Please go ahead.
Mehul Panjwani
Hello, sir. Thank you so much for the opportunity.
Sir, what is the expected timeline and ramp-up curve and the cost advantages which we will have from the Indonesian plant? See,
Abhyuday Jindal
Indonesian plant was purely to go for nickel resources and nickel-bearing grades. That was the reason we went to Indonesia with all the restrictions we foresee coming, and now they are the world leaders in nickel production.
Mehul Panjwani
Hello?
Abhyuday Jindal
Can you ask the question again? Sir,
Mehul Panjwani
yeah, I was actually trying to understand how will it impact our EBITDA per ton and margins over next 12 months?
Abhyuday Jindal
We already guided, see with everything encompassing our Indonesia investment, domestic investments, expansion, all of that we're giving a guidance of 18 to 20 till H1 of this year. Then closer to H1 of this year, again we will come back with a fresh guidance if we see a big change happening.
Indonesia melt shop is factored in this EBITDA per ton.
Mehul Panjwani
Basically, sir, because I'm new to tracking this company, what kind of EBITDA per ton benefit we'll see the next six months?
Abhyuday Jindal
18 to 20,000 EBITDA per ton for the entire
Tarun Khulbe
stainless steel business.
Abhyuday Jindal
Stainless steel business. 18
Tarun Khulbe
18 to 20.
Abhyuday Jindal
EBITDA per ton is the guidance for entire stainless steel business.
Mehul Panjwani
Okay. Sir
Abhyuday Jindal
I would maybe suggest you spend some time with our IR team to get up to speed with all the other things, otherwise understanding will take some little longer time.
Mehul Panjwani
Appreciate that, sir. Thank you so much, sir.
Abhyuday Jindal
Thank you.
Operator
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Rakesh Roy from B&K Securities.
Please go ahead.
Rakesh Roy
Hi sir. My first question is, sir, can you light on your Rathi performance for whole year and Q4 in terms of its revenue and EBITDA?
Tarun Khulbe
Rathi for the whole year operated at around 80-85% capacity utilization, and in this plant, as we had spoken in the past that we intend to produce more of rebars, stainless steel rebars, which for the last quarter was around 25% of the total volume, and this we are increasing gradually, we are finding even within the various agencies the policy-level decisions as well as coming for making in the coastal area usage of rebars mandatory. Otherwise so far as the overall performance is concerned, Rathi is also a part of the total business EBITDA per ton whatever we have given, all that is included into that.
Subsidiaries, we have not been discussing separately.
Rakesh Roy
Just to know, sir, Rathi is EBITDA positive for Q4 or for your whole year? Company is EBITDA positive.
Right, sir. Sir, next question just to know, sir, okay, due to the shortage of sulfur or rising sulfur prices, any impact on our Indonesia business or in terms of production or anything?
Abhyuday Jindal
No, in our business of nickel production, sulfur is not directly used.
Rakesh Roy
Not used directly, sir. Right.
Thank you, sir.
Operator
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Kirtan Mehta from Baroda BNP Paribas Mutual Fund.
Please go ahead.
Kirtan Mehta
Thank you, sir, for the opportunity. I wanted to understand the model that we want to pursue after the Indonesian slab becomes operational.
We have been sort of utilizing around 85% scrap and that gives us sort of the green advantage. At the same point of time, we are also now thinking about sort of bringing this slab into India and use them in our process.
What is the intended scrap utilization plus post Indonesia becomes fully operational?
Abhyuday Jindal
The idea of going to Indonesia was because globally around 70-75% of stainless steel even today is produced using NPI as an input, nickel in the form of NPI, and of course 30% approximately is produced scrap as an input. We as a company now have both the possibilities because in India we have the capacity to use scrap as much as possible, and now we have this possibility of bringing in slabs from the Indonesia through NPI route.
We will be balancing the two, and depending upon our customer requirement, accordingly we can use the product and produce the product.
Kirtan Mehta
We may not necessarily bring the entire 1.2 million ton slab into India. In that case, if we don't bring it to India, then what would be the alternate route of monetization and what kind of EBITDA we'll make on that?
Because that will be on top of the 18 to 20k, correct?
Abhyuday Jindal
At this stage, our plan is to bring in, it has just started, right now whatever our plan is to bring the quantities to India.
Kirtan Mehta
Right, and what kind of sort of the utilization levels we are looking for next H1
Operator
Mr. Mehta, I'm sorry to interrupt you, sir, that will be the last question.
Kirtan Mehta
It's a follow up on the same.
Abhyuday Jindal
Please ask, it's okay.
Kirtan Mehta
No, I was just checking in terms of out of the 1.2 million ton utilization, what kind of the throughput level that we are assuming for FY27 for the Indonesia melt facility?
Abhyuday Jindal
Now the ramp-up has started. We believe that gradually the ramp-up will take place and up to 70-80% of the capacity should ramp up
Kirtan Mehta
in this financial year. Sure.
Thank you.
Abhyuday Jindal
Thank you.
Operator
Ladies and gentlemen, we'll take that as the last question for today. I now hand the conference over to Mr.
Abhyuday Jindal for closing comments. Thank you and over to you, sir.
Abhyuday Jindal
Thank you, everybody. In closing, I'm proud to share that we achieved a stable and resilient performance despite the challenges of a dynamic external environment.
Resilient demand across key sectors, coupled with our sharp focus on value-added products and unwavering customer focus, drove our achievements this quarter. Despite uncertainties in global trade, we remain committed to our long-standing customer relationship across the globe.
Our agile business model continues to differentiate us and help us deliver sustained growth in a volatile geopolitical environment. I hope that we've been able to answer all your questions satisfactorily.
Should you need any further clarification or would like to know more about the company, please feel free to contact our investor relations team. Thank you once again for joining.
Operator
Thank you.
Tarun Khulbe
Thank you, everyone.
Operator
Thank you, members of the management. On behalf of Ambit Capital, that concludes this conference.
We thank you for joining us and you may now disconnect your lines. Thank you.
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