JSPL Aims To Be Net Debt Free In FY23, Expects 20% Rise In Operating Profit
JSPL also maintained its capex plan of nearly 18,000 crore for FY23.
Jindal Steel & Power Ltd. expects to be net debt free in the ongoing fiscal.
The steelmaker aims to pare debt by nearly Rs 5,500 crore during the year, making it net debt free, its Managing Director VR Sharma said.
JSPL’s net debt stood at Rs 8,876 crore in FY22. The company lowered debt by 20% sequentially in the fourth quarter.
The steel mill also expects its standalone operating income to increase by 20% in FY23, Sharma told BQ Prime in an interview. The company, he said, although missed the consensus forecast for Ebitda of Rs 3,673.9 crore, but matched the internal target.
JSPL saw its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation fall 15.2% over the year earlier to Rs 15,037 crore in FY22.
Q4 FY22 Highlights (QoQ)
Net profit fell 5.8% to Rs 1,527 crore.
Revenue increased 14.5% to Rs 14,340 crore.
Ebitda fell 5.8% to Rs 3070 crore.
JSPL also maintained its capex plan of nearly 18,000 crore for FY23. According to Sharma, the export duty levy on finished steel is a “temporary phenomenon”, expected to be for not more than two-three months, after which “things would be normalised”.
Once the exports resume since July, Sharma said the company won’t be exporting wire rods (used in electrodes, automobile components and hardware manufacturers, among others)—largest MSME requirement—but would continue exporting specialty plates, yellow goods plates and capital machinery plates.
Watch the full interview here: