Jindal Stainless Limited (JSL) Q4 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to Jindal Stainless Limited Q4FY26 Earnings Conference Call hosted by Ambit Capital Private Limited. As a reminder, all Pire Spin 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 star then zero on your touchtone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Sattitip Jain from Ambit Capital Private Limited. Thank you, and over to you, Mr. Jain.

Thank you, operator. Good evening, and on behalf of Ambit Capital, I thank the management team of Jindal Chainless for the opportunity to host their Q4 FY26 earnings conference call. We have the following members of management with us today. Mr. Abhudej Jindal, Managing Director, Mr. Tarun Kholbe, CEO, CFO, and Whole Time Director, Mr. Kapil Aruda, Head of Finance, Mr. Angad Khurana, Head of Investor Relations, and Mr. Abhishek Gambi, who is the part of IR team. I now hand over the call to Mr. Angad Khurana. Thank you all, and over to you.

Thank you, Sathodeep. 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 the 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 After the remarks, we will open the floor for their questions. With that, let me hand it over to our Managing Director, Mr. Abiyaz Ejindar, to take you through the highlights. Over to you, sir.

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. Kulbe 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, GSS performance was consistent, undermined by demand momentum from key sectors such as automotive, Last quarter, we 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 natural 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 stalactites 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 state receive 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 the 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, disruption shipping lanes have resulted in room diversions, extended rounded 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, GSL demonstrated strong execution capability, delivering higher export volumes on a quarter-on-quarter basis, Thank you. In this environment, Jindal Stainless retains its market share through its agility, cost-competitiveness, and a customer-first approach. On sustainability front, JSL continues its streak of ESG excellence, achieving an EcoVertus score of 71 out of 100 in Q426 with a bronze medal acquisition. In parallel, our continued commitment towards a cleaner and more resilient energy mix saw the partial commissioning of a 315-megawatt 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. Kulbe to discard operational and financial performance. Thank you.

Thank you, Abhita. 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 at 526 deliveries were at 0.64 million tons, remaining steady on a year-on-year basis. Our Q4 consolidated EBITDA increased by around 37% year-on-year and around 3% of water-on-quarter to Rs. 1455 crores. Our consolidated pack stood at 824 crores, an increase of around 41% on year-on-year, and around 1% on quarter-on-quarter basis. For F526, our deliveries stood at 2.57 million tons, with an increase of around 8% year-on-year. Consolidated EBITDA increased by around 19% year-on-year to Rs. 5,550 crores, and consolidated BAT stood at Rs. 3,185 crores, 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 Rs.3040, 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 subsidiary front, all subsidiaries have shown improvement and contributed positively to the group's overall EBITDA. The plan is progressing well and remains on track. The 1.2 million tons 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 tons per annum, including 3 million tons per annum in India. In parallel, downstream expansion projects in India are advancing as planned, including the upcoming commissioning of a 1.1 million tons per annum HRAP line and a 0.17 million tons per annum CRAP line at JAKKOR. To further extend the downstream integration, the company announced that the cost of annum HRAP line will be added to the capacity to...

We will now begin with the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask questions may please press star and 1 on their touchtone phone. If you wish to withdraw yourself from the question queue, you may press star and 2. Participants are requested to use only hands-up 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.

Yeah, hi.

Thank you for the opportunity.

Congratulations on a group of numbers despite, you know, gas destruction.

So, my first question is pertaining to the guidance.

I believe you just gave a guidance of 2029. Is it possible to give some volume growth guidance as well as EBITDA guidance for 2027? Because that's like very immediate. And considering the current global headwinds, if you can give a guidance.

So, in terms of volume growth for FY27, we are expecting at least 8-10% growth, 7-9% growth in volume this year, and for EBITDA per ton, looking at the kind of uncertainty that is, till H1 of this year, we are giving a guidance of 18-20,000 EBITDA per ton, and depending on the situation, maybe after 6 months, we might revise this figure.

Okay. So, you are actually sticking to that 18-20,000 range despite the overhangs from the Middle Eastern crisis?

Correct. Correct. We're still confident of delivering 18-20 and give at least a 7-9% volume growth in the entire year. Okay.

So, 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? Hey, what would be the volume disruption and what is the quantum of gas you have started receiving or the impact is there, you know, especially for the first quarter?

So, in terms of at least because availability has picked up at a higher cost, so we don't see availability as a challenge in the month of May, but cost has significantly gone up.

And what would be the impact, sir, from this one particular

cost, like the cost increase on the EBITDA level?

So, again, it's the same thing. We still stick to our blended guidance. Despite this cost going up, we still have confidence of delivering 18 to 20.

And, sir, quick question, just if you can give a breakup of the 200, 300, 200 Cs.

Yes, sir, partner. So, for Q4 FY26, 200 series is around 38%, 300 series is around 43%, and 400 series is around 19%.

Thank you so much, sir.

If there's any further questions, I'll go on back.

The next question is from the line of Alok Devra from Motilal Oswal. Please go ahead.

Hi, good evening. Sir, just had a couple of questions. So, first is on the export side. So, export proportion has come down, and it's lower than what we used to do, you know, in a normal state basis. So, 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 FI27?

So, as we can see that for the year FI26, it is having a share of 8% of our total sales, which was in FI25, it was 9%. So, 1% lower, but on the expanded base. I'm having different challenges. We can say uncertainty. But as a company, we are able to gain our share. We still, with our important market of North and South America, we are trying to develop new markets or trying to increase our footprint into the new market. And right now, yes, due to, again, this cause of disruption happened, but still we are continuously working. Even with the C-bomb coming and creating disruptions 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 79% of volume, increased guidance what we have given, Still, we should be able to manage a share of 8 to 10% of export, and that increased.

Got it, sir. And, sir, on the EBITDA pattern, I mean, 18,000 to 20,000, the range which we are giving for the 1H, and we are more than nearly 20, we are comfortably above 20 in the current, you know, run rate basis. So, is it that kind of pressure which we are seeing in the cost, you know, in the first quarter, that, you know, we are scaling down on the EBITDA guidance for?

No, it's basically the uncertainty. 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, I mean, the people who import material, those companies in those countries, the cost has not gone up. So, definitely because of this, we feel that 18 to 20 is possible for H1. For H1.

And then we definitely review the whole thing, because this cost has been very sharp and sudden. Even in the utilities like ammonia and acids, all these consumables were also impacted.

Yeah, that's all from my side, sir. Thank you and all the best, sir.

Thank you. We'll take the next question from the line of Amit Dikshaj from Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead.

Yeah, 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 involvement. While the 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, you know, we are in a dichotable situation where we are expanding, but government is not coming with any support. So, what gives us so much confidence to expand? I mean, that is my first question, essentially.

So, 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 sentiments and creates a confusion among the silver 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. Even 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, we have these things definitely, the sentiments and all these things definitely impact, but we also have our strengths. We are into working, we have diverse portfolio of products. We work into each, we produce, we serve each area of the stainless steel, stainless steel consumption, and beyond that, also we have been seeing a mind, I will say, in the user, that earlier, like, we could see that earlier people used to make their consumption decisions based on the L1 basis, lowest cost. Now we see that life cycle cost is, normally, people are considering life cycle cost for making a decision while choosing a product, and there is an advantage, and we could see many new applications where say, 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, when it comes to mobility, which are lightweight and more energy efficient, when it comes to infrastructure, which is long-lasting, maintenance-free. So, this kind of acceptance also gives us a confidence that going forward, Celeste will grow even beyond the natural growth, whatever it is having. And we as a company, we believe that we should be ready.

To be a myth, like Mr. Kulwe said, you know, and dialogue with the government is consistently on. So, already, like he said, that we are approaching the government as an industry that the MSME sector, the producers who are willing to expand and increase their capacity, they will be negatively impacted. You know, so QCO is protecting our borders from substandard material, was giving confidence to MSME to expand further. We as a company, as we always share, we're 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. And the other side, apart from QCO, we're also working on anti-dumping. So, they are appointing verifiers in Q1 this quarter, and that anti-dumping investigation process should also continue.

Okay, that's great to know. The second one is essentially on defense. Now, you have highlighted in the press release that there have been a couple of, you know, we have been applying in the defense sector. Now, typically, defense sector involves a long approval process, and it's very heartening to know that you have crossed the bridge. I just wanted to ask, you know, because the defense prospects are quite bright in the country with a lot of domestic platforms being built, so I just wanted to understand that, you know, what are the other new products or, you know, 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, like, I know it's currently very small, but let us say five years hence, What could be the portion of revenue from defense segment?

So, Amit, you know, defense being such a critical area, I would not like to, on an 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 conscious, we're all part of. And 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 depends, like I said, already land systems, good work is happening. So, 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.

Okay, sure. Maybe I will discuss with you one-on-one on this.

One-on-one is a little critical and they also request us not to share.

No, no. Fair enough. Sure. Great. Thanks for the opportunity and congratulations for good performance and best of luck.

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Ritesh Shah from Investec. Please go ahead.

Hi, sir. Thanks for the opportunity. Congratulations on a good set of numbers. A lot of questions. So, 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. Second question. Sir, I'll just wait over here. I'll let you answer, then I'll come to the second question.

Yeah, so 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, we would like to put up downstream capacity, and subsequently, very fast, come up with upstreaming as well. You know, but I would still, we are still, every day 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.

Great. So what should be the KPEX number that one should bake in for 27 and 28, overall at the company level?

Not perfectly, Maharashtra. You are saying, you are saying overall now. For FY27, our CPEX is around $2,800. For FY27, $2,600 for FY27.

And for FY28?

We will come back to you with that one.

So 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. And the second question, second part is 1.2 million tons slab from Indonesia. Basically, how should we look at the contribution on the numerator and the denominator when we look at incremental EBITDA pattern?

So, RTEF business, that is a nickel business, even in the past, we have discussed that when we had made the investments, I mean, the strategy, just to recall that strategically, it is more for the raw material security. But 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. But, 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 there is a current position on it, the current financial numbers are. Now, so far as our, this, my shop is concerned, so we intend to bring the slabs over here and process in India. In a way, I mean, it's like they're in grave up over here strategically, placing ourselves in order to be where, where the, to be at a place where the nickel is. So, with our guidance we are providing, that will all, that will change including from the.

Yeah, so taking that into account also, we've given the 18 to 20 for H1 guidance.

Sure. And Kulfi said, just to get a clarification on the $3,000 per turn number, I understand, please correct me if I'm wrong, 200 KT, 14% nickel content. So, are we looking at 28 KT, $3,000 into our stake of, say, 50%? Is that the right way to...

The relationship varies. I mean, like, it depends upon the, see, the ore quality also keeps on changing, and accordingly, the nickel output also keeps on changing. But whatever the nickel production comes out, it is, for the last quarter, it was around $3,000 per ton.

Great. Sir, what I'm trying to appreciate is the underlying EBITDA per ton, if we had to step out this nickel-led volatility. So, that's what I was trying to, if you could help understand that.

So, this, I think, Anwar, Anwar, I'll get back to you at this conclusion.

Sure, 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 you could help us with the timeline on both by month for HRAP as well as CRP, just to appreciate the mass balance?

Yes, so one thing I appreciate your concern, but some of our equipment, what we have invested in the past, they have the capability of doing both HRC as well as CRC, 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 flaps, so that also the possibility remains. So, we are confident of balancing our needs as the market demands.

Sure. And 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 mid-list situation doesn't improve? So, any mitigation measures that you would like to highlight that would be helpful? Absolutely.

Thank you, sir.

Yeah, so the stages is like this. I mean, when this disruption happened, of course, as soon as the war started, that could inspire pain and LPG. Whereas in our Krumeni Mundra plant, natural pipe 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. But 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. So, in our Jatwur plant, already we have worked on using natural gas also, and a portion of it, which in fact we have started using it, which will gradually increase, we are working on it. Hissar plant also, we are looking in the longer term, what can be done, and even in Jajpur and other places, coal gasification plants and syngas, these are also the possibilities.

East India, we will look towards coal gasification and syngas, pipe natural gas, wherever we can include, and also to replace ammonia, we are going for green hydrogen. So, already in Jajpur 600 NM cube, plant will be up and running in June, July, and Hissar also at 90 will increase to 400 almost in the next few months. So, that way, in all fronts, to ensure that this impact doesn't come, we're already working on it. Even in our Gaziabad plant, we are now working on the gas for Gaziabad also.

So, in a way, we are starting to take actions on multiple fronts, so that in future, we, you know, we are not impacted by any disruption. Or at least our risk is mitigated.

Perfect, sir. Thank you so much for the elaborate answers. Thank you so much.

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Pinnakin from AgesBC. Please go ahead.

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? I mean, should we assume that entire flow through into EBITDA and then a minority interest going out or a 50% attributable? Just trying to understand that.

So, at this stage, our intent is to bring the slabs to India and then process them over here.

And from the accounting perspective, it is a subsidy, so 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.

Understood. So, does the FY27 guidance of 8% to 10% and 18% to 20,000 rupee EBITDA per ton build into some volumes from this capacity and facility?

Yes. So, our business plan is accordingly built. So, the guidance of 7% to 9% on the volume and 18% to 20% on the EBITDA per ton factors that.

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 that is exactly why, if you see, our timing was absolutely on point because we already started hearing Indonesian government talking of restrictions, Talking of duty, which is why at stage one, we went and invested in our RKEF. So that the Indonesian government was talking about banning nickel ore export. So that way, we invested in NPI. Now, already, government is talking about further valuation should happen in Indonesia, further restrictions that you yourself are saying could come, which is why we took that step and went and invested in a steel melt shop there also. Stayed in a steel melt shop there also. And 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. So, it was an absolutely logical step for a company of our size to go to Indonesia. And because you've taken these measures, we feel no restriction from Indian government or Indonesian government should come on gender status.

Got it. This is very, very helpful. Thank you very much.

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Vikas Singh from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.

Hi, sir. Good evening, and thank you for the opportunity. So, 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 is currently going through the CDM process? Have we got any, you know, data or the, like steel got 75 euro kind of the CWAM cost? Have we got anything like that?

That is a similar, I think the default value they are putting on all metal companies, so on steel, stainless steel at the moment is a similar kind of value like you are 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. So we are absolutely ready as a company. We have already gone and got scores of various agencies, domestic and international. So, we are actually waiting for the 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.

Noted, sir. Sir, my second question pertains to our, basically, if I am not incorrect, previously we were supposed to get the Indonesian slab, get it, roll it here, and then sold in the market. However, considering your guidance, it doesn't seem like that either we are utilizing that facility fully or the domestic facility to the full extent. I just wanted to understand how it should be the entity involved. So, 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 3 to 4 years, we would probably more like a 9 to 10% volume growth story before the Maharashtra comes in, even though the international situation normalizes?

So, we have already given the statement that by FY29, we are targeting to be a player of around 3.5 million, which answers practically all your questions. Three and a half million shares. Yeah, three and a half million shares. Because all our capex, whatever we have announced, they are aligned to that. And this is after taking care of all our investments, declared in the past and recently what…

No, Chetar. That's all from my side and all the best for future.

Thank you. Thank you. The next question is from the line of Ranjit Sivaram from Mahindra Manulife Neutral Fund. Please go ahead.

Yeah. Hi, sir. I just wanted to understand, like, what are the cost pressures, if you can just give us some color on that whatsoever, dependent on dependence, how much of LPG or natural gas are we, dependent on how much has the cost of this increased, and is there any contestation to that?

So, I mean, 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.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So that we are able to quantify that. No, I don't.

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 time guidance of 18 to 20, factoring in this cost increase.

So we are able to pass on these prices? That's what you mean to say?

No, I'm not saying that also. 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. So, leading to all these factors, like I said, sometimes we are, sometimes we are not, and that's why the blended rate is something that we are quite confident of achieving. And there is so much uncertainty that you don't know what will happen.

Okay, sir. Thanks.

Thank you.

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Satyadev Jain from Ambed Tappati. Please go ahead.

Hi, thank you. Some follow-up questions to some of the earlier questions I've been asked. So, the Indonesia SMS is now up and running. The charge poor HRAP will come certain later in the year. So, you do have the capability to maybe get some calls. I'm 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 in the HRP come, and is that part of the guidance you're looking at for FY27?

The FY27 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 calls from outside.

So, basically, you've given EBITDA pattern guidance for 1H, but if we look at the entire year, this getting slab, because you have the capability, will not impact EBITDA pattern on those volumes, right? Just trying to understand volumes are there, but there will be no EBITDA.

So, 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 will be reviewing it at the H1, and then this is the situation.

The 3.5 million then you guided to for FY29. If we look beyond FY29 also, do you need Maharashtra for further volume growth beyond FY29 or with the existing capacity? How do we look at volume growth beyond FY29?

See, 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 Jasper or even Mundra now. So, we feel quite comfortable that we'll be able to maintain our market share in the future as well. Yeah, we'll keep on evaluating the situation and basis the… There is potential to grow in other plants, but we would, 10.29 comes toward Maharashtra, but we are open to all kinds of options. So, that is not part of JSL, so we don't really discuss that on this call.

Okay. Thank you, Sunsh.

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Rajesh Majumdar from T61. Please, please go ahead.

Yeah, good evening, sir. Thanks for the opportunity. So, my question is two parts. Firstly, for FY26, what is the backup between 200, 300, and 400 series?

Yes. First, for FY26, 200 series is around 37%, 300 series is 46%, and 400 series is 18%.

Yeah. So my second part is that if you look at the 400 series, which I think a couple of years ago you were talking about as a very fast-growing space and the 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, et cetera, in your presentation, is that a matter of concern that this 400 series is falling over the years?

Well, the 400 series, definitely

we wanted to grow, but at the same time as the business evolves, as the market requirements and demand evolves, that also, you know, accordingly, we also have to change our product mix. So, 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 403. But eventually, but our first priority is to meet the requirement, but we'll keep on working.

And if you see already, like, small example, but already year average was 18, but already Q4, 400 series has picked up to 19 to 20. You know, so 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.

And just to add, while in terms of percentage, for FY25, the 400 series was 17%, and for FY26, it is 18. So while you see only 1%, but this increases also at a higher volume. Yeah, on the larger base.

So that we can assume a creeping increase in this percentage over a period of time. And that would be positive for our EBITDA pattern, right?

Absolutely. Like I said, if it is not going to add value to our EBITDA per ton, then we would not do it only.

For that, my second question was, you've talked about general defense and aerospace separately this time in a commercial order. Now, I was going to the website of this company, and it has a lot of potential. What is the size of this company, and are we looking at, and do we have any plans down the line? Different entity.

It's not a different entity. It's part of JSL only. So, it's not a company that we created. It was just given to create a more of a presence and a branding kind of play. So, it's part of the whole entire JSL setup.

So, it's not a separate company?

No. Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Mehul Panjwani from 40cents. Please go ahead.

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 have from the Indonesian plant?

Indonesian plant, we only need to go for nickel resources and nickel-bearing rates. That was the reason we went to Indonesia with all the restrictions we foresee coming. And now they are like the world leaders in nickel production.

Hello.

Can you ask a question again?

Sorry, I was actually trying to understand how it impacts our EBITDA per ton and margins over the next 12 months.

You 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. You know, and then closer to H1 of this year, again, we will come back with a fresh guidance if we see a big change happening. So, Indonesia's workshop is factored in this EBITDA Kota.

So, basically, sir, because I'm new to tracking this company, so what kind of EBITDA per time benefit we'll see?

18 to 20,000 EBITDA per ton for the entire stainless steel business. 18 to 20 EBITDA per ton is the guidance for the entire stainless steel business.

Okay. And sir, I

would maybe suggest you spend some time with the IR team to get up to speed with all the other things. You know, otherwise, understanding will take some little longer time.

Appreciate that, sir. Thank you so much, sir.

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Rakesh Roy from Boring AMC. Please go ahead.

Hi, sir. My first question, sir, can you light on your Rathri performance for whole year and Q4 in term of its revenue and EBITDA?

RATI, for the whole year, was operating, operated at around 80-85% capacity utilization, and in this plant, we, as we had spoken in the past, that we intend to produce more of rebars, which for the last quarter was around 25% of the total volume. And this, we are increasing gradually, even as 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. Thank you.

Yes, yes.

A bit of positive. Yeah. Okay, right, sir. Sir, next question. Due to the sort of sulfur or the tariff in sulfur prices, any impact on our Indonesia business or in terms of production or anything?

No. So, in our business of nickel production, sulfur is not directly used.

Okay. Not directly used, sir.

Right. Okay. Thank you, sir.

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Kirtan Mehta from Baroda BNP Pariva Mutual Fund. Please go ahead.

Thank you, sir, for the opportunity. I want 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.

So what is the intended scrap utilization post-Indonesia becomes fully operational?

So the idea of going to Indonesia was because globally around 70-35% of stainless steel even today is produced using NPA as an input nickel in the form of NPI. And, of course, 30% approximately produce scrap as an input. We as a company now have most of 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 slaps from Indonesia through NPI route. So we will be balancing the two, and depending upon our customer requirements, We

may not necessarily bring the entire 1.2 million ton slab into India, and 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?

At this stage, our plan is to bring in, let us just start it. So right now, whatever our plan is to bring the quantities to India.

What kind of sort of the utilization levels we are looking for next H1?

Mr. Mehta, I'm sorry to interrupt you, sir. So that will be the last question.

It's a follow-up on the screen.

Okay, please ask. Please ask. It's okay.

No, no, I was just checking in terms of what kind of then out of the 1.2 million 10 utilization, what kind of the throughput level that we are assuming for FY27 for the Indonesia Milt Facility?

So, now the ramp-up has started. We believe that gradually the ramp-up will take better than up to 70-80% of the capacity should be ramped up in this.

Sure. Thank you.

Okay, thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we'll take that as the last question for today. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Abhudai Jundal for closing comments. Thank you and over to you, sir.

Thank you, everybody. In closing, I am 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 a sharp focus on value-added products and unwavering customer focus drove our achievements this quarter. Despite uncertainties and global trading, we remain committed to a 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 have 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. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, everyone.

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.