Jindal Steel Q1 FY27 Earnings Call: Guides 10.5-11mt Sales Volume, EBITDA/ton Rises to Rs. 11,927 (JINDALSTEL)

Jindal Steel Ltd held its Q1 FY27 earnings call on July 24, 2026. Here's a quick read of what management said — performance, strategy, and the outlook ahead.

Revenue Dips on Shutdown; EBITDA/ton Rises to Rs.11,927

• Revenue declined ~8% QoQ in Q1 FY 2026-2027 due to a planned maintenance shutdown, partly offset by a ~Rs.7,500/ton improvement in ASP (Segment 5).
• Consolidated adjusted EBITDA stood at Rs.2,667 crore in Q1 FY 2026-2027; EBITDA per ton reached Rs.11,927, up Rs.1,843/ton QoQ, driven by higher ASP partially offset by $23/ton increase in coking coal costs (Segment 5).
• Value-added product share improved to 66% in Q1 FY 2026-2027 from 61% in Q4 FY 2025-2026, with further ramp-up expected (Segment 5).
• Consolidated PAT for Q1 FY 2026-2027 was Rs.844 crore (Segment 5).
• Net debt stood at Rs.15,927 crore as of end-Q1 FY 2026-2027, with net debt/EBITDA at 1.71x (Segment 5).
• Finance cost rose to Rs.548 crore in Q1 FY 2026-2027 due to the full-quarter P&L impact of newly capitalized assets (1,050 MW power plant, BOF 3, CRM, etc.) (Segment 5).

Q1 Cost Pressures of Rs.5,500/t; Slurry Pipeline to Drive Rs.700/t Savings

• Cost per ton increased by ~Rs.5,500 QoQ in Q1 FY 2026-2027, driven by iron-bearing cost increase of Rs.500/ton, Middle East conflict impact of $12-13/ton, coking coal cost increase of $23/ton, and operating leverage loss of ~Rs.2,000/ton due to a plant maintenance shutdown (Segment 10).
• CFO expects coking coal cost to rise further by $12-15/ton in Q2 FY 2026-2027, but the Rs.2,000/ton operating leverage impact from Q1 should not recur as no plant shutdown is planned (Segment 10).
• Management expects a Rs.700/ton benefit from the slurry pipeline starting from Q2 FY 2026-2027, with benefits from operations expected to reflect from September 2026 (Q3 FY 2026-2027) onwards (Segments 11, 13).
• Iron ore backward integration improved from 16% in Q4 FY 2025-2026 to 28% in Q1 FY 2026-2027, targeting an exit rate of 40% for FY 2026-2027 (Segment 11).
• Captive coal mix was 50% in Q1 FY 2026-2027 and is expected to improve further with Utkal B1 ramp-up and Utkal B2 coming online (Segment 11).
• Management targeting Rs.1,000/ton reduction in controllable costs (energy, yield, wastage) through a specialist team; period unspecified (Segment 12). Uncontrollable input costs (iron ore, coking coal, energy) remain subject to external factors (Segment 12).

Crude Steel Target of 11-11.5mt for FY27; Angul BF2 Scaling

• Management targets crude steel production of ~11-11.5 million tonnes in FY 2026-2027, with a roadmap to reach 15.6 million tonnes installed capacity via internal metallics and debottlenecking (Segment 6).
• New blast furnace (BF2) at Angul is targeting 12,000 tonnes per day hot metal by September 2026 (Q2 FY 2026-2027) and 13,000 tonnes per day (100% utilisation) by December 2026 (Q3 FY 2026-2027) (Segment 6).
• Combined Angul hot metal target is 24,000 tonnes per day from BF1 and BF2, with steel production target of 27,000 tonnes per day after monsoon, eventually 30,000 tonnes per day (Segment 6).
• Raigarh plant operating at 100% capacity utilisation with 3.6 million tonnes per annum stable production (Segment 6).
• FY 2026-2027 sales volume guidance maintained at 10.5-11 million tonnes; the 300,000 tonnes of hot metal loss in Q1 from a planned BOF refractory shutdown is expected to be recovered in subsequent quarters (Segment 7).
• Slurry pipeline (capacity 20 million tonnes) commissioning expected in first half of August 2026 (Q2 FY 2026-2027), subject to weather (Segment 6).

High-EBITDA Products Earn Up to Rs.25,000/ton; Aspirational 4mt Target

• V.R. Sharma explained that high-EBITDA products earn up to Rs.25,000/tonne internally, while low-EBITDA products earn around Rs.7,000/tonne in Q1 FY 2026-2027 context (Segment 14).
• Roughly 50% of products are high-EBITDA and 50% are low-EBITDA currently; management aims to convert an estimated 30% of the low-EBITDA segment (i.e., 1.5-2 million tonnes) into high-EBITDA products over time (period unspecified) (Segment 14).
• The long-term aspirational goal — management aims "to produce at least 4 million tonnes out of the 6 million tonne mill capacity as true value-added steel", moving away from commodity production (period unspecified) (Segment 14).
• Price reductions ranged from Rs.1,000 to Rs.4,000 per tonne in Q1 FY 2026-2027, primarily affecting TMT products, while prices for value-added products like rail, rounds, specialty structural shapes, and specialty plates were maintained (Segment 8).
• JSPL supplies head-hardened rails to 18-19 out of 22 metro rail systems in India (current) (Segment 4).
• Government of India has banned imports of specialty plates — "Government of India has banned imports of specialty plates", benefiting JSPL's quenched and tempered plate business (Segment 4).

8 New Senior Appointments; Stable Middle Management Layer of 1,800-2,000

• Jindal Steel introduced three new senior leaders during the Q1 FY 2026-2027 earnings call: V. R. Sharma as Managing Director, Rajiv Kumar as Chief Operating Officer, and Sandeep Modi as Chief Financial Officer (Segment 3).
• V. R. Sharma acknowledged concerns over frequent senior management changes, stating the company is addressing the issue, with a stable core of 1,800 to 2,000 upper-middle management employees (manager to VP level) driving operations with no abnormal attrition (Segment 9).
• The board has appointed 8 new senior executives, including a new CFO, CHRO, CEO from Tata Steel (Mr. Gaji), and hires from ArcelorMittal and group companies (Oman, Czech Republic) (Segment 9).
• An advisory board is in place to guide the company during transitions and ensure strategic continuity (Segment 9).
• Rajiv Kumar (new COO) previously developed 500+ value-added steel grades at Tata Steel, supporting the value-added product strategy (Segment 6).

Margins Seen Flatish at ~Rs.12,000/t in Q2; Capex of Rs.8,500 Cr for FY27

• Management guided net debt/EBITDA to fall below 1.5x in Q2 FY 2026-2027, aided by new facility ramp-up and cash generation (Segment 5).
• FY 2026-2027 total capex plan guided at Rs.8,500 crore; annual capital expenditure guided at Rs.7,000-10,000 crore from FY 2026-2027 onwards, funded entirely through internal accruals ("earn and invest") (Segments 5, 6).
• Management guided that Q2 FY 2026-2027 cost reductions will largely cover the loss from lower realizations (Rs.1,000/t decline in longs and flats), keeping margins flatish around Rs.12,000/t as in Q1 FY 2026-2027 (Segment 13).
• HRC prices are currently ~Rs.800/tonne lower than the Q1 FY27 average; TMT index is at ~Rs.8,000/tonne due to seasonal weakness, with recovery expected post-monsoon (Q2 FY27) (Segment 7).
• MOU signed with Government of Jharkhand — management signed "MOU signed with Government of Jharkhand for potential expansion at Patratu", where existing finishing mills (2-2.2 million tons capacity) would be backward integrated with a 2.5-2.7 million ton blast furnace, conditional on iron ore allocation from Jeraldaburu area (Segment 12). No investment committed until conditions are met (Segment 12).
• RBI projects India's GDP growth at 6.6% in FY27 — "RBI projects India's GDP growth at 6.6% in FY27", with India remaining the fastest-growing economy globally (Segment 4).
• Risks include monsoon-related operational disruptions, potential delay in slurry pipeline commissioning, and ongoing Middle East conflict impact requiring monitoring (Segments 6, 10).