• Domestic market growth: The company expects domestic stainless steel demand to grow at 7% to 9% over the next couple of years across key sectors, supporting its target of reaching a 3.5 million tonne capacity by FY29.
• Q1 operational performance: Despite a 7.5% year-on-year drop in sales volume due to fuel and logistics disruptions, EBITDA per tonne came in at ₹22,900, beating the guidance of ₹18,000 to ₹20,000 due to a focus on higher-value products.
• Debt and capex: Jindal Stainless plans to reduce debt to between ₹2,500 crore and ₹2,800 crore by year-end from ₹2,950 crore, while maintaining annual capex guidance of ₹2,400 crore to ₹2,600 crore to enhance downstream capacity and operational efficiency.
• Value-added product mix: The share of cold-rolled products in the total product basket is targeted to rise from 50%–54% currently to 65%–68% by FY28.
• Greenfield expansion plans: Beyond the FY29 milestones, the company has identified Maharashtra for a prospective greenfield expansion, with definitive plans to be shared once land acquisition is finalized.