Posted on 10 Jun 2020
JSW Steel ramped up capacity utilisation to 83% in May from 38% in April when it was curtailed by Covid-19-related measures. Crude steel output in May reached 1.25 million tonnes, up 122% on-month.
Output of flat products surged 163% on-month to 905,000t in May, while longs production rose 124% to 200,000t.
JSW said last month it expects to operate at 89% capacity utilisation in the fiscal year through March 2021, with sales down -5% on-year to 15 million tonnes (see Kallanish passim). Indian steel exports are likely to partly mitigate Covid-19’s impact on domestic demand, with local market activity expected to gradually pick up from the December quarter.
Besides increasing exports to offset lower domestic demand, JSW plans to defray fixed costs over a higher base, generate cash flows and liquidate stocks in order to combat the impact of the pandemic. It aims to resume near-normal utilisation run rates by end-June.
