Tata Steel Limited noted that the company’s India operations faced with tough second quarter. Also, the European operations went through very tough third quarter. The businesses in both the regions have started to show signs of margin improvement thereafter.
According to TV Narendran, CEO and Managing Director, Tata Steel, China is expected to witness huge amount of pent-up demand, in spite of the big challenges faced by the country. The Japanese steel markets too are expected to perform better. Although demand side continues to remain strong in India, the pressures, mainly on account of rising raw material costs, are likely to hit the steel industry in India.
Commenting on the global steel outlook, he said that steel prices have gone higher by nearly $70-$80 in Southeast Asian region. The steel prices in India have been on the rise during the past couple of weeks. The domestic steel prices in China too have edged higher by almost $100. The much awaited stability in gas prices is expected to support commodity prices in Europe as well in the coming weeks.
Narendran reiterated the company’s commitment to deleveraging, but said that he is not sure about having deleveraging this year, as it has consumed a lot of working capital, primarily due to INR 12,000 crore acquisition of Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited.
