Tariffs Impact, China Steel Demand, Q1 Result & More: JSW Steel CEO On NDTV Profit

So, in spite of prevailing challenges and uncertainties, as you rightly said, JSW Steel has delivered strong operational performance. Our production volume grew by 14%, despite having two blast furnaces under planned maintenance shutdowns. Our sales volume grew by 9%, and the domestic component in India grew by 12% against an India growth of 7.9%. From a volume perspective, we have done reasonably well. From an EBITDA perspective, our numbers are reflecting a positive story. Our consolidated EBITDA is at 7,576 crores, primarily benefiting from sales price improvement in the market. The safeguard duties were timely and have been supporting the pricing environment and the steel industry at large. Having said that, prices increased in April and May but moderated in June and partly in July. We will see how that goes. In the past quarter, our coking coal cost also went down, giving us a better cost equation. We had a better price environment, and despite some shutdown costs, we delivered strong operational performance in India, and our overseas operations also did very well.

I think what is happening is the geopolitical uncertainty and challenges, compounded by the tariff policies announced in the last few months, which are having a dampening effect on sentiments globally and to some extent in India as well. Prices have softened internationally and therefore in the domestic market. The good thing is that Chinese production has moderated from a 3 million ton daily rate in March to about 2.75 million, so production is moderating. We expect a moderation of 30 million tons in China's production this calendar year. Domestic demand in China is still soft, so exports from China are elevated, which is a challenge for the global steel industry at large. The safeguard duty in India has given us the protection necessary to ensure dumping does not happen. However, international prices have gone down and trade flows are changing because some countries with higher tariffs into America are looking for different markets, and some are now approaching India. So we have to be cautious as we go into the next few quarters.