With the worst in terms of pricing pressures behind Tata Steel, its outlook is expected to improve. Europe has seen hot rolled coil prices rise this January after the European Union's (EU's) carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) kicked in and further price improvements may be on the cards once import quotas come into play in June.
Tata Steel on Wednesday reported a 272 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) jump in consolidated net profit, attributable to owners, at Rs 3,101.75 crore in the second quarter of 2025-26 (Q2FY26) led by higher sales volumes in India and planned cost takeouts across geographies.
Tata Steel's UK operations, which have largely been a struggle since the acquisition, are expected to turn earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda)-positive this financial year (2025-26/FY26) and possibly profitable by the next. Responding to shareholder queries at Tata Steel's annual general meeting, Tata group chairman N Chandrasekaran said, "We expect the UK to perform much better this year compared to last year - it will definitely be Ebitda-positive."
The United Kingdom on Friday announced a joint investment package with Tata Steel worth 1.25 billion pounds, including a government grant of 500 million pounds, for the country's largest steelworks in Wales that will help protect thousands of jobs and boost the British economy. The government's grant has been dubbed as one of the largest British government support packages in history and a "defining moment" for the country's steel industry.
JSW will pay at least Rs 4,000 crore Rs 40 billlion.
The struggling steelmaker said the sale includes several South Yorkshire-based assets, including electric arc steelworks and bar mill at Rotherham, steel-purifying facility in Stocksbridge and a mill in Brinsworth.
The UK government has promised to put in place measures worth hundreds of millions of pounds to support any rescue deal for the Indian group's UK business.
There is positive sentiment for Tata Steel on the basis of strong domestic demand, a turnaround of European operations and moderate valuations. A combination of capacity expansion, efficiency gains, higher asset utilisation, and improved operating leverage may lead to margin expansions.
There are seven potential buyers, ranging from the Port Talbot steelworks' management to the UK steel industry investors Liberty House
Tata Steel's consolidated net profit more than doubled to Rs 2,007.36 crore during the June quarter, on account of "increase in net steel realisations and the planned cost-takeouts" across geographies. The Tata Group entity had posted a net profit of Rs 918.57 crore in the year-ago period.
As part of restructuring, Tata Steel UK informed its lenders on Tuesday that it would prepay debt of over 200 million pounds to continue its objective of making its European operations debt-free. Non-recourse debt is a secured loan that is availed of by pledging collateral but there is no personal liability on the part of the borrower.
Tata Steel UK is reformatting its operations in Port Talbot by investing 1.25 billion in an electric arc furnace facility with the UK government contributing 500 million. The project will take around three years to complete, if all the regulatory clearances come through. The facility will use scrap and be classified as green since it will utilise renewable power and cut carbon emissions considerably.
The Labour government in the UK has cleared the decks for a 500 million grant to Tata Steel, paving the way for decarbonisation of the company's British business and a sustainable financial future. In a statement, Tata Steel said that it has signed a 500 million Grant Funding Agreement (GFA) with the UK government, allowing it to "proceed at pace with the project to install a state-of-the-art electric arc furnace (EAF) at the Port Talbot steelworks in Wales". This is part of the 1.25 billion green steel project in Port Talbot, of which Tata Steel's investment is to the tune of 750 million.
The Tata Steel Group has extended substantial financial support to the UK business and suffered asset impairment of more than 2 billion pounds in the last 5 years.
Management buyout vehicle Excalibur Steel, Sanjeev Gupta's Liberty House metals group, India's JSW Steel Ltd and Greybull Capital have submitted separate bids
There has been no change in Tata Steel's strategy on operations in the United Kingdom (UK), company chairman N Chandrasekaran has told shareholders. The statement comes amid growing concern about the restructuring plan in the face of change in government in the UK. Tata Steel's plan for the UK entailed a 1.25 billion investment plan agreed upon by the Conservative party-led government in September last year.
'Brexit might delay the sale process of Tata Steel's UK operations'.
The Tata Group had acquired its UK steel operations as part of a 6.7 billion pounds acquisition from Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus in 2009.
It was August 2007. Tata Steel was turning 100. Jamshedpur, its hometown, had an air of celebration. The line-up for the special event included the launch of Air Deccan's commercial flight connecting Kolkata and Jamshedpur, and release of Russi Lala's new book, Romance of Tata Steel. There was also the screening of The Spirit of Steel, a 20-minute documentary directed by Zafar Hai showcasing Tata Steel's legacy, and a corporate anthem penned by Javed Akhtar and composed by Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy.
It is not clear at this stage whether Tata will take up the government's offer of taking a 25 per cent stake in the business.
Besides a minority stake, the UK and Welsh governments are considering additional grant funding
'When you look at reviving private sector capex, I don't think there's a better story than steel.'
Some feel that Tata Steel has put these assets on the block only after exhausting all the options.
'Due to tariff uncertainty, automotive customers reduced their steel uplift by almost 15 per cent.'
Tata Steel, the world's sixth largest steel-maker, will raise Rs 3,000 crore through non-convertible debentures to prepay the debt of its UK subsidiary, Tata Steel UK. The issue is Rs 1,000 crore higher than originally planned.
The announcement evoked a sharp response from the UK and Ireland's largest trade union, Unite, which said it would fight for every job and demanded that there would be no compulsory redundancies from Tata Steel.
The company said it had extended financial support to the UK business.
Tata Steel on Friday said it will cut 900 jobs in the UK as part of major restructuring of European operations to make the company an "all-weather" steel producer, capable of succeeding in difficult economic conditions.
Tata Steel has a very British problem. The performance of Europe dragged the steel major's October-December (Q3FY23) performance with the UK business accounting for a major part of the operating loss; on the bottom line, the overhang of the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) showed. And a nearly three-year discussion with the UK government on a support package for a green transition resulted in an offer that fell short of the ask.
More than 2,800 jobs will be axed as Tata Steel plans to close its blast furnaces at the Port Talbot plant in South Wales in the UK. Of the total job cuts, 2,500 will be in the next 18 months, said Indian conglomerate Tata. A further 300 jobs are to go in three years.
'The steel industry has a multiplier effect on direct and indirect employment, national security on the supply chain, technology access etc.'
The company agrees to discussions for long-product division with Swiss group Klesch.
The steelmaker's India basket grew after Tata Steel completed its acquisition of Bhushan Steel under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code process and its subsidiary, Tata Sponge, acquired Usha Martin.
European Union steel prices hit their lowest since 2004
There was an acceptable domestic performance in India but there continues to be concerns about the Europe business and that overshadows the local performance. The consolidated revenues for the Q2FY24 stood at Rs 55,682 crore with an operating profit of Rs 4,315 crore and an operating profit margin of 8 per cent.
Analysts sceptical whether company will sustain rise in operating profits.
The UK steel industry is struggling for survival in the face of extremely challenging market conditions.
Aiming to revive its loss-making long-product business in Europe, Tata Steel on Friday said it plans to invest 400 million over five years, shut or mothball parts of Scunthrope plant and slash 1,500 jobs in England.
The board of Tata Steel, which will enter an open bidding war with Brazil's CSN for Corus on Tuesday, met in Mumbai presumably to discuss the strategy for the auction and also consider the quarterly results.
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