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JINDALSTEL · Mar 2024 call

JINDAL STEEL LIMITED analyst Q&A

2024-05-13
Moderator

Thank you very much. The first question is from the line of Amit Dixit from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.

Amit DixitICICI Securities

Congratulations for a good set of numbers. I have 2 questions. The first one is on the inventory. If I see the inventory has gone up Y -o-Y, while we find that commodity prices in general have gone down. So is it a finished product inventory or raw material inventory? How much would be the finished steel inventory at this stage?

Sunil Agrawal

I think Vishal will provide you with details. I mean inventory is up in finished goods as well as in raw material to su pport our production. So we have increased the inventory of our coking coal, which is in the raw material, and we have upped the finished goods inventory as well also. The details will be provided by Vishal to you.

Amit DixitICICI Securities

Okay. Sure. The second questi on is, in the absence of presentation at this stage, if you could just elaborate on the progress of various packages with respect to the ongoing group project?

Sunil Agrawal

So we are on track. Basically, whatever projection that we have given earlier, so we are on track on all the projects.

Vishal Chandak

Amit, the presentation has been uploaded. So I would request you to kindly refer to Slide 30 of the presentation as well. As far as the projects are concerned, we are on track to deliver whatever we have guided so far.

Amit DixitICICI Securities

Okay. What would be the capex guidance for FY '25?

Vishal Chandak

So if you remember 2 quarters ago, we had published our capital allocation policy where we had mentioned that our capex would be in the range of INR 7,500 crore s to INR 10,000 crores depending upon the kind of EBITDA that we earn through the year. So the philosophy is basically to spend whatever we have earned keeping the debt in check. So, so f ar, the plan is to maintain the capex spend in the range of INR 7,50 0 crores to INR 10,000 crores only. However, if the EBITDA generation through the year is higher, we would want to accelerate the cash flow as well on the capex front. But again, the whole thing would be subject to a disciplined balance sheet approach.

Moderator

The next question is from the line of Sumangal Nevatia from Kotak Securities.

Sumangal NevatiaKotak Securities

My first question is on the volumes, given we are seeing good progress on all the expansion projects, and they remain largely on track. What sort of volume can we expect overall for FY '25?

Sunil Agrawal

So we are expecting good volume in the FY '25. So exact numbers, we will not be able to tell you. But certainly, we'll do much better than the financial year '24.

Vishal Chandak

So Sumangal, as you all know, we do not give any forward -looking guidance, but as you have pointed out that the c apacity is getting commissioned, backward integration progressing smoothly, we should be able to clock a better volume run rate compared to what we have do ne in FY '24.

Sumangal NevatiaKotak Securities

Okay. Got it. And from the blast furnace BF and BOF2, do we expect commercial production to start from the third quarter onwards?

Vishal Chandak

So basically, that would depend on the ramp -up of the blast furnace when we dec lare commercial production. Commercial production is subject to a lot of testing parameters being achieved. So I would request Saby, Sir, also to elaborate on that.

Sabyasachi B.

Thank you, Vishal. I think we are on track pretty much in terms of the proje ct execution. And as Vishal said, there are commissioning parameters, which need to be vetted out once we put it in place. But so far, we do not see any major hinderances in terms of our targets.

Sumangal NevatiaKotak Securities

Understood. Just continuing on this one is, if you could just share what's the status of the 2 coal blocks where mining lease is yet to be obtained. When do we expect that to kind of start? And secondly, slurry pipeline, we are still maintaining 1Q '25. So if you could just update I mean, given that it's maybe a month away from actually commissioning, what sort of savings do we expect from the slurry pipeline?

Sabyasachi B.

So as far as the 2 coal blocks are concerned, we are, again, pretty much on track and as per the published document, we will hit those roads. Your second part was regarding the slurry pipeline. I thi nk, again, there is a small pa tch that we are working on in terms of getting the permissions in place. That's what we are waiting on r ight now. Rest of the work is very much on track.

Vishal Chandak

Sumangal, just to add on to what Saby Sir mentioned, in terms of the 2 thermal coal mines, Utkal B1 and B2, we have not given any specific guideline as to which quarter or which month we hope to open these mines. But definitely, within th e year, we would be opening it. Since these are matters which are outside our control, so we'll not be able to give you any specific update on that. But yes, we are in a very advanced position to open these mines.

Moderator

The next question is from the line of Kirtan Mehta from BOB Capital Markets.

Kirtan MehtaBOB Capital Markets

Just wanted to understand in terms of we have a capital allocation plan that we have specified the capex at INR 7,500 crores to INR 10,000 crores. What could be the impact on the project delivery either if we are at the lower end or at the higher end? Would this target be achieved even if we are at the lower end?

Vishal Chandak

Saby, Sir, can you please take this?

Sabyasachi B.

Yes. So first of all, the capital expenditure that is envisaged in this, so the lower end capex that is envisaged that will certainly help us to hit the numbers that we are there. There are on the higher side, capex expenditure, that's slated for future growth plans. So I don't see any major obstacles in our way in terms o f the capex. And as Vishal has very clearly stated earlier, our capex plan is based on our debt management. So overall, I think we are on track with our production plans and our investment plans.

Kirtan MehtaBOB Capital Markets

So the way I understand is even if we spend IN R 7,500 crores for the next 2 years, our target, we will still be able to deliver on all the projects without any delay for the purpose of capital expenditure. And even if we do INR 10,000 crores, there will not be any acceleration in this projects. Am I understanding you correctly?

Vishal Chandak

No. Kirtan, just let me put it this way. What we have mentioned on our capital allocation policy is that our capex spend would be in the range of INR 7,500 crores to INR 10,000 crores per annum, okay, dependi ng upon the kind of EBITDA that we generate. For the projects of this size and magnitude, you cannot expect that we will spend exactly INR 7,500 crores every year only. There could be a time when we spend a lot more than that and there could be a time when we spend a little less than that, okay? But overall, the ballpark range would be in this and it will be managed in a fashion that we don't spill over on the project timelines. So rest assured, neither there is a cost overrun nor there is a time overrun on these parameters.

Kirtan MehtaBOB Capital Markets

But for the immediate 2 years, are you expecting anything above this range or to be spent below this range to deliver on the timeline target?

Vishal Chandak

As of now, there is nothing envisaged. If we have something on this, then we will definitely come back to you on this.

Kirtan MehtaBOB Capital Markets

Sure. The second question was about our arrangement with RINL where we were looking to sort of secure higher metallics, which could allow us to operate crude steel operation at a higher run rate, is there any further progress on that, that you can share and whether we will receive any benefit of higher metallics in FY '25?

Sabyasachi B.

We are under discussions with RINL for potential of higher availability. So that discussion is going on. So far, we are continuing with the current process th at we have already established. Vishal or Sunil Ji you want to reflect on that, any additional comments?

Sunil Agrawal

Yes. So we are getting supply from RINL for the billets as per our MoU, which i s continuing, and we are expecting that the required quantity will get from the RINL.

Kirtan MehtaBOB Capital Markets

Just to follow up what is the quantity that we are currently getting? And what is the quantity that we are envisaging for FY '25?

Vishal Chandak

Kirtan, that is not in the public domain. So you m ight refer to any media reports , but we have not specified the agreement in the public domain.

Kirtan MehtaBOB Capital Markets

From a perspective the analyst, it would help us model the FY '25 production leve l. So if you can share from your side, we can work with a more informed way of estimating the FY '25 productions.

Vishal Chandak

Maybe we'll take it offline and maybe I can help you a little bit on that later.

Kirtan MehtaBOB Capital Markets

Sure. Just last question was on the write-off that we have taken in the Australia coal block. Could you give us more color, what does it pertain to and what is our plan for the Australian asset from here on?

Sunil Agrawal

Yes. Just I will update. So this is the annual exercise there. S o as per local, they have to get the impairment testing every year. So this year also, they have got the impairment done. So this is for the intangible assets, they are carrying in their books. So right now, the Australian mines, we have taken under care a nd maintenance due to certain issues there. So we are not operating that mines. So we have taken impairment of around INR 360 crores.

Kirtan MehtaBOB Capital Markets

And is this likely to be become operational again in FY '25 or it could take longer?

Sunil Agrawal

No, we are planning to operate a bit single -shaft basis sooner. We will get the permission and we'll start production with single shaft.

Moderator

The next question is from the line of Ritesh Shah from Investec.

Ritesh ShahInvestec

The first question is on consumption basis, what was the cost for coking coal and iron ore for this quarter?

Vishal Chandak

Just to add, Ritesh, we have mentioned that there was an uptick in our coal cost, which is in a range of $15 to $20 and that is what has played out through the quarter on a consumption basis.

Sunil Agrawal

And I have already indicated that for the Q1, there will be a r eduction of around $30 to $40 that I have already mentioned in my previous statement.

Ritesh ShahInvestec

Okay. Possible to give some details around iron ore sourcing strategy for the company right now and going forward?

Sunil Agrawal

We are sourcing our iron o re from NMDC, OMC. We have the MoU with all of them, and we are participating in the auctions as well. So we are sourcing from different sources.

Vishal Chandak

So basically, Ritesh, if you look at it, we operate 2 captive mines. One is Tensa and the othe r one is Kasia. The EC limit for Tensa is about 3.11 million tonnes, which would be mined to the fullest. Kasia, EC level is about 7.5 million tonnes, which we typically do in the range of 6 million to 7 million tonnes depending upon the market conditions. Balance is sourced on a long-term agreement basis and on the spot mark et, depending upon the valu e in use. So it's a mix of both.

Ritesh ShahInvestec

This is helpful. And can you please help me with the throughput for the 2 coal mines, which I believe have started, tonnage as well as potential cost savings?

Sabyasachi B.

So Sunil Ji, do you want me to take this? Vishal, can I take this?

Vishal Chandak

Yes, Sir, please go ahead, Sir.

Sabyasachi B.

Yes. So again, we do not generally provide the forward -looking guidance, but I can tell y ou that we have hit capacity, and we are augmenting the capacity. So the EC capacity we have, in fact, upgrading for both Gare Palma IV/6 and Utkal C. And both will go up to 5 million tonnes per annum. And we are in the process of doing that application and get ourselves to that.

Ritesh ShahInvestec

Sir, would it be possible to quantify the throughput that we had in the quarter, just trying to get a sense on the cost savings that we would have benefited during the quarter?

Sunil Agrawal

Yes. So basically, we have done from the Gare Palma around 1 million tonne and around 0.9 million tonnes from the Utkal C for the Q4, that we can explain. Regarding the cost saving, generally, we don't provide. You can contact Vishal for this.

Ritesh ShahInvestec

Sure. Sir, how much did you say for Utkal C, I missed it?

Sunil Agrawal

Utkal C is 0.9 million tonnes.

Ritesh ShahInvestec

0.9 million tonnes, okay. Sir, last question, I'll just squeeze in. Are we on schedule for HSM? Because I think BF, BOF, HSM was interlinked that is what was explained in the last call, I do understand that you do not want to share details pertaining to RINL sourcing. But are we confident on rolling out stuff from HSM, say, by Q3? Is there something on track?

Sabyasachi B.

Yes. HSM is fully on track. We have already hit the run rate for 3 million tonnes. And we will end the year probably, again, it's a forward-looking statement, not saying in particular, b ut this year, 3 to 3.5 million tonnes and next year, 6 million tonnes, that's the target.

Ritesh ShahInvestec

Sure, Sir. This is very helpful. And then last one, the pellet plant, if you could help on the utilization levels and how should we look at the profitability, if at all over here?

Sabyasachi B.

So I can give you what we have been hitting. And in Q4, w e clocked at around 4,500 tonne plus a d ay. And in April, we went back, we took that up to almost 8,300 plus tonnes per day. And in May right now, we are clocking somewhere in between 9,000 tonnes to 10,000, tonnes depending on the days. And that's what we intend to continue and ramp up further.

Moderator

Our next question is from the line of Pavas Pethia from Aditya Birla Mutual Funds.

Pavas PethiaAditya Birla Mutual Funds

Just in terms of overall capex, what is left to be spent in the next few years for this INR 31,000 crores?

Sunil Agrawal

This is close to INR 15,000 crores. So we have spent around 50% we have already spent and 50% we are targeting that over the next 2 years we'll spend.

Pavas PethiaAditya Birla Mutual Funds

And maintenance capex will be over and above this? Just for quantum?

Sunil Agrawal

Yes, that is over and above.

Pavas PethiaAditya Birla Mutual Funds

What quantum annualized basis?

Sunil Agrawal

So basically, we are expecting around INR 2,500 crores for the maintenance.

Pavas PethiaAditya Birla Mutual Funds

Okay. And just lastly on this Australian mine operation. If the mine remains shut, what is the cost we incur annually if there's no production?

Sunil Agrawal

Not much. We have already reduced a lot of manpower there. So our cost is minimum there. I can explain that we have some minimum expense there as of now.

Vishal Chandak

So basically, Pavas, the mine is now under maintenance and care like there is a very, very minimal sustenance cost over there, which is not a very big number over there. So basically, your overseas businesses earn and spend on their own, and there is no material cash flow which moved out from the parent comp any into the overseas. So if the intent is to understand whether are we funding the overseas projects? No, we are not. So basically, among the overseas, they are earning and inves ting on their own and sustaining their own expenditures largely.

Pavas PethiaAditya Birla Mutual Funds

Okay. But you said that INR 360 crores was kind of losses from last year for Australian mines. So how is it supported?

Vishal Chandak

These are not the losses. This is an impairment taken.

Sunil Agrawal

This is a noncash item.

Pavas PethiaAditya Birla Mutual Funds

Okay. So incrementally, no cash flow from Indian entity.

Sunil Agrawal

No, no, no. We have not sent any single pie from India for this during the last year.

Vishal Chandak

I think we have mentione d in our previous calls also, Pavas, that the overseas operations have to earn their own EBITDA to meet their expenditure. We have long -stopped funding from the India business.

Pavas PethiaAditya Birla Mutual Funds

Okay. But any corporate guarantees which are kind of being suppor ted from Indian balance sheet?

Sunil Agrawal

Not much. We have cleared all the corporate guarantees. Since we have one, 4.6 million AUD bank guarantee is there, corporate guarantee is there. Otherwise, there is no as such, any corporate guarantee from India side.

Moderator

The next question is from the line of Indrajit Agarwal from CLSA.

Indrajit AgarwalCLSA

First, I want to understand about the NSR. So just to understand, y ou said NSR, how was the NSR this quarter versus last quarter?

Sunil Agrawal

Yes. So we have just given you what the growth reduction in percentage basis. Exact number we don't provide in the call. So if you require anything specific, Vishal will provide you.

Indrajit AgarwalCLSA

So the percentage will also do. So quarter-over-quarter, how much was the move in NSR?

Sunil Agrawal

Basically, as I have already explained, there was a reduction in 5% on qua rter-on-quarter basis for steel NSR.

Indrajit AgarwalCLSA

Okay. And was there any pellet sales? How much, if any, in this quarter?

Sunil Agrawal

So no, break-up we don't provide.

Vishal Chandak

There is no pellet sale in this quarter. So Indrajit, the pellet plant has not ramped up to its fullest capacity. And once the pellet plant also ramps up, the new blast furnace will come in. So we may not have any real surplus pellet to actually sell in the market.

Sunil Agrawal

So that is mainly on account of how other like cement, power, everything other, and sales that we have arrangement with RINL, we are providing them the materials. So that in cludes, that's why our overall turnover is higher.

Moderator

The next question is from the line of Amit Murarka from Axis Capital.

Amit MurarkaAxis Capital

So similar question as the previous participant had. Like could you just help better understand this movement in revenue then because NSR is down, like what are the other factors which have offset that? And if you can give some color as to the number also?

Sunil Agrawal

So I think the details Vishal will provide you.

Vishal Chandak

See Amit, pursuant to our MoU with RINL, we have provided a lot of material to them, and that is getting reflected as part of our sales in the accounting, okay. So the uptick that you see is basically the differential is on account of that particular material movement to RINL to support the restart of blast furnace, okay. But if you do your math, you'll see if you've taken a 5% reduction on Q-on-Q, the balance is largely, the material supply to RINL.

Amit MurarkaAxis Capital

Okay. Got it. So that's the larger part of the explanation is it?

Vishal Chandak

Yes. So you can take this as a one -off and then adjust it because this is not going to be incrementally recurring every year.

Moderator

The next question is from the line of Rajesh Majumdar from B&K Securities.

Rajesh MajumdarB&K Securities

Yes. Sir, my first question was from April 1st till date, what is the quantum of price hike you've seen in terms of an average price increase on a quarter -on-quarter basis and how much of that will reflect in 1Q?

Sunil Agrawal

So this is around INR 1 ,000 on ballpark number, I'm saying. So it is already up by INR 1,000 per tonne. And further, we are seeing upside in the market in the month of May and June.

Vishal Chandak

So Rajesh, if you see, NMDC has raised iron ore prices about INR 300 per tonne, a nd that would be a similar range for other private miners. So you can quickly do the math, about INR 1,000 increase in stee l prices, roughly about INR 300 odd numbers increase in the iron ore prices. And there is what we have already mentioned about $35 to $40 reduction in the coking coal on a consumption basis for the quarter.

Rajesh MajumdarB&K Securities

Right, right. That's helpful. And my other question was on the tax rate, I guess you've seen the tax rate has gone up this quarter. So is that going to be from next year, do we assume th at the company will pay the 25% plus kind of tax rate from next year or will it be certainly decrease on that?

Sunil Agrawal

Actually, in the JSP stand-alone, we will be having same tax rate of 25%. And for JSO we'll be having the lower tax that we are achieving in that particular company.

Rajesh MajumdarB&K Securities

Okay. Okay. And my last question is that w hile ramping up the ho t st rip volumes, do you expect any kind of cost increases in terms of marketing because of the new products we are trying to sell in the market, which will actually have a kind of impact on the EBITDA per tonne? Any kind of significant increase in marketing or other expenses which you envisage from this?

Sunil Agrawal

So no, we don't see any increase in marketing expe nses because we are doing marketing. Our marketing team is doing the marketing of HSM.

Vishal Chandak

So Rajesh, on the contrary, the semis that we have will now be converted into HR coi l and would be sold. So converse to what you are assuming that there's been increase in expenditure. Actually, we expect an increase in the EBITDA because of conversion of semis into flat steel.

Rajesh MajumdarB&K Securities

Correct. That's fine. No, I know that. I was just wondering if there's going to be any kind of increase in the other expenses that we should kind of look at.

Vishal Chandak

No, on an overall scale basis, whenever you are increasing your volumes, you will experience some increase in the variable cost as well. But the point is when it comes down to a per tonne basis, you would see economies of scale playing out.

Moderator

The next question is from the line of Ashish Jain from Macquarie.

Ashish JainMacquarie

Sir, my question again goes back to realization. I know you partly explained it, but I'm sure this will be a query with everybody. So is it possible to explain it on the call itself?

Vishal Chandak

So Ashish, let me put it this way. What you have seen is basically an increase on a Q -on-Q basis on the NSR that the way we calculate it, right. But Sunil, Sir, has mentioned that there's a 5% reduction in the steel realizations. So if you calculate the differential between these 2, the large chunk of the differential basically go es on account of material suppl ied to RINL through sales, which is part of the MoU that we have done wi th them. Balance is a very, very small quantity of other operating income that we always have for any steel mill that you would see flowing through, so that's basic math behind us.

Ashish JainMacquarie

Yes. So just to clarify, so we should use the last quarter number 63,000, that's a key number and take a 5% decline on that ballpark? Or that has had some element of the supplies, that's the reason I'm asking.

Ashish JainMacquarie

Okay. And then the similar amount we should take out from the cost also? Because clearly, your cost also per tonne has gone up sequentially, I guess, for the same reason, it's getting booked on both side.

Sunil Agrawal

Yes, yes. Absolutely, right.

Ashish JainMacquarie

So INR 12 ,500 EBITDA per tonne we are getting is that's a clean number, right? It’s all business related, within that, right?

Vishal Chandak

It's all business. Yes, it's a normal operating income only.

Ashish JainMacquarie

Okay. Okay. Got it. And secondly, my second question was on the coal mine ramp -up because I know you kind of earlier indicated that it's difficult to put a timeline. But can you give some indication because this was the first year where we have seen the co al mine ramping up? And also, can you give some indication of how the cost savings have come through at least backward-looking, you can give some clarity on that?

Sunil Agrawal

No. No, that we can't.

Vishal Chandak

No. Ashish, we have time and again ment ioned that we would want to refrain from giving any color on the actual cost saving numbers because that keeps on varying depending upon the e - auction prices and other things. So I would leave that for your calculation at this point time.

Moderator

The next question is from the line of Kamlesh Jain from Lotus Asset Managers.

Kamlesh JainLotus Asset Managers

Sir, I had 1 question on the part of the presentation, on 24 Slide number. There was loss of around INR 69 crores in the subsidiary in the EBITDA breach, which was let's say, INR 91 crores in the previous quarter. So was that loss more than this particular quarter?

Vishal Chandak

Can you please repeat the question?

Kamlesh JainLotus Asset Managers

So there was a loss quarter -on-quarter of INR 69 crores , which we have shown in Slide 24 of the presentation.

Sunil Agrawal

That is mainly Australia operations. T hat other subsidiary is basically related to Australia operation.

Kamlesh JainLotus Asset Managers

But in last quart er, it was INR 90 -odd crores. INR 91 crores of profit or I would say, in a presentation quarter on quarter in the previous quarter. And this quarter, it was INR 69 crores loss. So like is it primarily on the operational side because as we have mentioned that in Australian operations, we don't have much of fixed overheads and all those things. But despite that, you had such a significant loss and quarter-on- quarter, if I see roughly around INR 180 crores, INR 170 crores of loss have come up in this particular quarter.

Sunil Agrawal

Kamlesh, basically, that is swing from the previous quarter to this quarter.

Sunil Agrawal

It is not the exact numbers that you are looking at. This is swing from the previous Q2 to Q3 and Q3 to Q4.

Kamlesh JainLotus Asset Managers

Yes. But if I see from Q2, then it is roughly an INR 170 crores.

Sunil Agrawal

So you can get the details from Vishal. Vishal will explain you separately, Kamlesh.

Kamlesh JainLotus Asset Managers

Yes. And lastly, on the project commissioning. I do believe I don't give the forward -looking statements for any guidance but even if I see all the project metrics like say on the electrification or civil work, there has not been significant movement quarter over -quarter. And still, we are so confident on our guidance part that all the projects are on schedule. But honestly, like Q1 FY '25 for slurry pipeline or Q2 FY '25 for BOF looks very stressed. So how much incremental production or all that you are expecting? Because FY '25 like we are going to see the growth and not much of capacity coming on in stream in India. So like even if we see last projects, li ke 8 million tonnes, that particular guidance also which we have achieved after 3 years of the earlier guidance, which we used to give around 5 years back, so what confidence do we have on these project timeline?

Vishal Chandak

Saby, Sir, would you like to take the projects part.

Sabyasachi B.

Vishal, somehow, there was a disruption in my line. So I kind of lost the question midway. Can Kamlesh repeat the question, please, for me.

Kamlesh JainLotus Asset Managers

Yes, sure, Sir. So if I go through your presentation, like say, the presentation Q4 FY '25, there has not been much of the, let's say, move ahead on various distribute of your project. So how confident are we on these projects, given the fact that we are s o much near to the product deadlines, or the timelines which we have guided. And there has been no needle movement or a significant change in the project scope. So how confident are we on these timelines of the project because Q1 FY '25 for this slurry pipeline and given the fact that the elections are there, and this rainy period is going to start and our ground or the channel set suggest on that, that around 40% to 45% of the work on this slurry pipeline is still pending. And even on the blast furnace si de, there are also not much significant changes there on plant work part or level of work which has happened over there?

Sabyasachi B.

So Kamlesh, other than anything which is beyond our control, meaning with administration or authorities anything that is pending, other than whatever is within our control, we are extremely confident of delivering it on time. In fact, the team has been doing a fantastic job, and we are fairly confident about our deliverables. As far as projects are concerned, as far as the timeline that we have indicated, that indicated timeline, we are extremely confident of. That's all I can say at this point of time. Vishal or Sunil Ji, if you want to add any color to it, please go ahead.

Vishal Chandak

I think, Kamlesh just one more thing. Electrical is always the last which comes up. So you will always find electrical as the last thing that is part of the commissio ning process. You cannot have electrical done before the civil. So that's how we have also arranged the entire presentation. So I think we are on track to deliver what we have guided so far. Slurry pipeline we just mentioned at the beginning in the opening remarks also as to a small patch where we are negotiating how we can get over things. But barring that, we are primarily on track.

Moderator

The next question is from the line of Parthiv Jhonsa from Anand Rathi.

Parthiv JhonsaAnand Rathi

So just have a very basic question, considering recently all the steel prices, especially for the longs have been going up, how do you perceive the next 2 quarters to pan out?

Sunil Agrawal

So next 2 quarters, nobody can explain as how the market will move. But we are right now, we are seeing the upward in the prices. So that's all we can say that we are expecting good price from here.

Parthiv JhonsaAnand Rathi

Sir, is it possible to quantify any kind of movement, what you're seeing currently?

Vishal Chandak

So Parthiv, we have mentioned that we have taken about INR 1,000 price hike, further price hikes would be subject to how the market behaves going forward. So as you know, it's very, very difficult to take a call on the price hike sitting over here at this point in time over the next 2 quarters. But yes, as we move in further, the most important point is that we are replacing a large part of our semi with HS M. So anyway, you see that getting reflected in our improved NSR and EBITDA as well. So price hikes, yes that would be guided by how the market behaves and how Chinese prices are moving up and down.

Sabyasachi B.

Vishal, if I may j ust quickly add a point, is that, Parthiv, one of the aspects that we are focusing on and need to be cognizant about is how we are moving with our product line. What we are doing with our value engineering and what segments we are moving into. So as Vishal rightly put it, that we are converting a lot of our semis into much more value -added finished goods. And so there will be an uptick in overall realization versus what we were getting. And hence, that bottom line improvement will happen. It's not only through volume, but also through value engineering and value-added grade addition into our basket.

Moderator

The next follow-up question is from the line of Ritesh Shah from Investec.

Ritesh ShahInvestec

Sir, my question is pertaining to power assets. I think we have 135 x 10 and another 250 to 270 megawatts of total power capacity. Just trying to understand what was the utilization levels in Q4 and if at all there was any external power sales? And if you c ould also help on the state of Monnet facility.

Sabyasachi B.

So Vishal, yes, go ahead, Sunil Ji.

Sunil Agrawal

No doubt, we are selling merchant power from our DCPP , basically Raigarh plant and quantity, we can't explain, but we are selling in the market.

Vishal Chandak

So these are very, very small merchant power sales that we have, Ritesh . There is no big quantum of merchant power that we have sold. Like any other steel company as you operate your SMS and blast furnace in tandem, occasionally, you kind of have surplus power and then you're drawing on the SMS, you have a deficit power. So between these 2 swings, you tend to have some surplus as any steel plant would have, and that is has been sold as a part of regular business. Goin g forward, once we have our ACPP up and running, ACPP-2, then we will see how do we deal with it because at that point, we might have some surplus. We will come to that point once the ACPP-2 is operational.

Ritesh ShahInvestec

What are the timelines we are looking at over here? And what are the variables that we look at whether to sell surplus or basically take down the older utilities?

Vishal Chandak

The timelines, we have already put in our presentation, and that's where we want to stick on to. So there's no change over there.

Ritesh ShahInvestec

And what are the variables because earlier we had indicated from an ESG angle of the station heat rate and lower fuel consumption. That was the reason why we were goin g ahead with ACPP-2. Do we still stand by the same? Or is there any change in thought process?

Vishal Chandak

So Ritesh, the thought process remains the same. See, what is the idea of getting ACPP-2? The whole idea is basically that this will be a lot m ore cost efficient for us, okay. In the case if we have a surplus power in the intervening period, then we will look at how to address the situation. So in the past, if you go through it , we have explained various options, so we would want to evaluate as we go closer to the commissioning period of our ACPP -2. Yes, ACPP -2, the heat rate is significantly lower than the exis ting boilers. And being a p it head coal plant, it helps reduce our costs further.

Ritesh ShahInvestec

Sorry, just to continue, so what will be the extent of surplus that we are looking at? Is it like 3 units, 4 units of 135 megawatt. How should we understand that?

Sunil Agrawal

So basically, that will depend on when we will commission the first unit of the Monnet power. Thereafter, we will strategize and update you on that.

Ritesh ShahInvestec

Sir, but from a mass balance standpoint, there should be a broad indication, right, once we go to 13 million tonnes, 14 million tonnes, there would be some quantum of surplus power, which would be there and probably you might look to dismantle the plant or you might look to sell out that particular asset? I'm trying to understand that as well.

Sunil Agrawal

No, no, we are not planning to dismantle the assets. So any capacity that will have, depending on the market conditions, certainly, we'll update you on that and we'll sell the power or self - consume, we will update on that. Right now, we don't have any plans to dismantle the units.

Ritesh ShahInvestec

Okay. And just a continuation of my prior question. I think in one of the remarks, the management did indicate that they are looking at higher supplies from RINL. There was some emphasis on the word higher. I'm just trying to unde rstand this and specifically in the context that I think RINL is only running one of the furnaces right now. And that also is in a bit of a problematic stage given some port -related strikes. How are we looking at approaching this particular scenario?

Sunil Agrawal

So this is a temporary phenomenon. So they have some strike and they have shut down. So that's why we are expecting to resolve that issue. And once they commission the plant, certainly they will supply to our commitment.

Ritesh ShahInvestec

Right. Sir, can you possibly give some numbers?

Moderator

Mr. Shah, may we request you return to the question queue for any follow -ups. The next question is from the line of Ashish Jain from Macquarie.

Ashish JainMacquarie

Yes, Sir, I just had 1 book-keeping question. What is the total volume of semis we have sold in '24?

Sabyasachi B.

Sunil Ji, you have that number handy?

Sunil Agrawal

Yes, it is there. This is 1.4 million tonnes around we have sold semis.

Ashish JainMacquarie

Okay. So this will go to 0 in FY'25, given we are hoping to operate HSM at more than 50%.

Sunil Agrawal

We'll be converting to HSM, yes.

Sabyasachi B.

So Sunil Ji, so if rounds is not considered semis, then it's good. So we should clarify that portion because rounds is a special product that we sell by design.

Sunil Agrawal

Actually, round is considered in semis. So certainly, that will depend on the market conditions, whether we'll produce round or HSM, but round is a part of semis.

Ashish JainMacquarie

Yes. So that's a part of this 1.4 million tonnes, right?

Sunil Agrawal

Yes, yes.

Sabyasachi B.

That's a premium product. That's a premium product for a reference, a very niche product for us, and we selectively sell that based on the returns.

Moderator

Ladies and gentlemen, that was the last question for today. I would now like to hand the conference over to the management for closing comments.

Vishal Chandak

Saby Sir, over to you for the closing remarks.

Sabyasachi B.

Good evening, once again, ladies and gentlemen, and thanks to Vishal and Sunilji and as well as the operators and the coordinators from JM Financ ial. It has been a pleasure to have you on the call. I think we have, as an org anization, have delivered our performance, and we will continue to be living up to the expectations of the market and our stakeholders. We are very focused and the team is geared up to deliver the expansion plans as well as the production targets alongside. So once again, we look forward to having you very soon, and thank you very much. Have an excellent evening. Bye.

Moderator

Thank you. On behalf of JM Financial, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us. You may now disconnect your lines. This transcript may not be 100 % accurate and may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies. The Company retains all rights to this transcript and provides it solely for your personal, non-commercial use. The Company shall have no liability for errors in this transcript or for lost profits, losses, or direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special or punitive damages in connection with the furnishing, performance or use of such transcript. Neither the information nor any opinion expressed in this transcript constitutes a solicitation of the purchase or sale of securities or commodities. The opinions expressed in this transcript are solely of the individuals and wo uld urge investors not to solely base their business decisions on them. Also, any forward-looking statements made on the call are purely indicative and subjective in nature and could change materially based on variety of factors including but not limited to market conditio ns, demographics, political situations, pandemic etc.