Okay, pehle toh company ki operational performance dekhte hain. Production aur sales volume dono ne hi record tod diye! Crude steel production 2.51 million tonnes (MT) tak pahunch gaya, jo ki 25% QoQ aur 26% YoY badhotri hai. Sales volume bhi 2.28 MT par pahunchi, 22% QoQ aur 20% YoY up. Consolidated Gross Revenue bhi ₹15,172 crore par aa gaya, 10.7% YoY growth ke saath.
Lekin, ye volume growth shareholders tak nahi pahunchi. Profitability kaafi compress ho gayi. Adjusted EBITDA 25.3% YoY gir kar ₹1,593 crore reh gaya. Aur sabse badi baat, EBITDA per ton ₹6,981 par aa gaya, jo pehle ₹10,010 QoQ aur ₹11,209 YoY tha. Yaani har ton par kam kamayi. Isiliye, Profit After Tax (PAT) bhi 80.1% YoY gir gaya aur ₹189 crore par aa gaya. Company ne bataya ki rising input costs aur subdued steel prices ne margin par pressure dala. Finance costs bhi 9% QoQ badh gaye.
Ab aate hain sabse badi chinta par - Debt! Company ka Net Debt badh kar ₹15,443 crore ho gaya hai. Aur leverage ratio, yaani Net Debt to EBITDA, 1.72x par pahunch gaya hai, jo ki management ke 1.5x ke target se zyada hai. Pehle yeh 1.48x QoQ aur 1.40x YoY tha. Yeh levels investors ke liye alarm bell hain, jabki profitability kam ho rahi hai.
Management ne kaha hai ki woh ₹7,500-₹10,000 crore ka capex karenge aur ROCE 18-20% target kar rahe hain. Lekin current situation mein, is debt ko manage karna aur future expansion ko fund karna ek challenge hoga. Value-added products (66% sales ka hissa) par focus aur Industry 4.0/AI ka use future mein madad karega, aisa unka kehna hai.