• Operational performance: Capacity utilization reached 94% excluding the shut-down BF3 furnace, and net sales realization improved by approximately ₹6,500 per ton quarter-on-quarter due to a richer mix of flat and value-added products.
• Raw material costs: Coking coal costs rose by $17 per ton in Q1 and are expected to increase by another $12 to $15 per ton in Q2, though softening iron ore prices in Odisha and from NMDC will provide partial cost relief.
• Overseas operations: The US business posted $16 million in EBITDA for Q1 following operational upgrades, while Italian operations delivered €7 million in EBITDA and secured a €33 million government grant to modernize rail manufacturing.
• Leverage and expansion: Net debt-to-EBITDA dropped to 1.46, well within the company's sub-2.5 threshold, with management ruling out equity fundraising and prioritizing brownfield expansions to achieve a 62-million-ton capacity target by 2032.