India: SAIL’s crude steel production dips, sales rise q-o-q in Q3FY’25

• Capex stands at INR 3,900 crore in 9MFY’25
• Finished and semi-finished steel stocks at 2.98 mnt

PSU steelmaker Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) posted a q-o-q drop in crude steel production, while sales volumes rose q-o-q in Q3FY’25. Additionally, the company spent around INR 3,900 crores in 9MFY’25 & the capex target for FY’25 stands at INR 5,700 crores. The company has a sales guidance of 17.5 mnt for FY’25, BigMint learnt from company’s investors call held on 12 February.

Highlights

• Crude steel production dips q-o-q: The company’s crude steel production witnessed a drop of 3% on the quarter to 4.63 mnt in Q3FY’25 as against 4.78 mnt in Q2FY’25. On y-o-y basis too, production dipped by 3% from 4.75 mnt in Q3FY’24.
• Sales volumes up q-o-q: Sales volumes rose by 8% q-o-q to 4.43 mnt in Q3FY’25 as against 4.10 mnt in the preceding quarter. Likewise, sales increased 17% on the year from 3.8 mnt in Q3FY’24.
• EBITDA down q-o-q: The company’s EBITDA declined 25% to INR 2,389 crores in Q3 as against INR 3,174 crore in the previous quarter. Meanwhile, the same rose 3% from INR 2,319 crores in the CPLY.
• Revenue from operations edges down q-o-q: Revenue from operations edged down 1% q-o-q to INR 24,490 crore in Q3FY’25 as against INR 24,675 crore in Q2FY’25. On a y-o-y basis, the same rose 5% as compared with INR 23,345 crores in Q3FY’24.
• Inventory: The total finished steel & semi-finished inventory was around 2.98 mnt for the quarter ending 31 December 2024.
• Net sales realisation (NSR): The average net sales realisation (NSR) for the quarter was around INR 49,700/t. The Blended NSR was around INR 48,400/t in January. Product-wise, long steel prices averaged around INR 50,000/t, while flat steel prices were at around INR 45,800/t in January.
• Coking coal prices: The coking coal costs are expected to decline further in Q4FY’25 as imported coal prices are projected to drop to around INR 18,700-19,000/t. The coking coal cost for this quarter was around INR 19,200/t. In Q3, the imported coal price was INR 20,000/t, and it is expected to reduce by INR 1,000/t in Q4.