JSW Steel hits a new high

JSW Steel, the largest steel maker of India went on to hit a new 52-week high today at Rs.343, on the back of its fantastic numbers for Q4FY18.

The numbers went on to beat all estimates, with a YoY 185% surge in consolidated net profit at Rs.2879 crore. This was on the back of a 16% rise in revenue from operations at Rs.20,817 crore.

Operating profit rose 67% at Rs.5,290 crore while margins jumped by a whopping 640 bps to 25.4%.

Its net debt has come down to Rs.38,019 crore as at 31st March 2018 v/s Rs.42,068 crore in FY17.

What really boosted the performance was the 7% YoY increase in steel sales volume and 5% rise in crude sales volume. Overall sales volumes grew 6% YoY; domestic sales grew by 41% YoY. Overall Value added & special products (VASP) and Special products sales grew by 14% (YoY), which is 57% of overall sales. The company’s sales to Automotive customers grew by 57% while automotive production grew by 26%.

Giving its outlook for FY19, the company has stated that domestic demand is expected to be robust with a pick up in domestic macro – investment as well as consumption indicators; it expects steel demand growth of 7% - 7.5% in FY 2019.