JSW Steel shares surge to 4-month high as February steel output jumps 12% YoY

Shares of JSW Steel climbed as much as 2.1% on Monday to a four-month high of Rs 1,032.5 on the BSE, after the company reported a 12% year-on-year (YoY) increase in consolidated crude steel production for February 2025.

In a filing to the exchanges on Friday, JSW Steel said its consolidated crude steel production for February stood at 24.07 lakh tonnes, compared to 21.49 lakh tonnes in the same period last year. The company’s domestic operations contributed 23.32 lakh tonnes, reflecting a 13% YoY jump, while its U.S. steel production came in at 0.75 lakh tonnes.

India’s largest integrated steel producer has expanded aggressively over the last three decades, growing from a single manufacturing unit to a global steel giant. The company currently has a consolidated crude steel capacity of 35.7 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), including 1.5 MTPA in the US.

The company’s domestic crude steel capacity stands at 32.5 MTPA, with plans to increase it to 34.2 MTPA following the full commissioning of an expansion project at JSW Vijayanagar Metallics Ltd (JVML) in Karnataka.

Looking ahead, the company aims to boost its total steelmaking capacity to 43.5 MTPA within the next three years. The company’s Vijayanagar plant, which is the largest single-location steel-producing facility in India, has a current capacity of 17.5 MTPA, including the under-commissioning expansion.

JSW Steel had posted a net profit of Rs 719 crore in Q3 FY25, marking a more than 70% decline from Rs 2,450 crore in the same quarter last year, largely due to higher expenses. The company’s total income for the quarter stood at Rs 41,525 crore, compared to Rs 42,134 crore in Q3 FY24.Meanwhile, its expenses in the third quarter rose to Rs 40,250 crore from Rs 38,815 crore a year earlier. Capital expenditure (capex) for Q3 FY25 stood at Rs 3,087 crore, while total capex for the April-December period reached Rs 10,937 crore.JSW Steel’s share price has gained 23.8% over the past year and nearly 10% in the last six months. Over the past week alone, the stock has advanced 8.1%, supported by a weakening US dollar index, China’s economic stimulus measures, and production cuts announced by Beijing.

China, the world’s top steel producer, recently announced measures to restructure its steel industry through output cuts, which could ease the global supply glut and support steel prices for Indian manufacturers. Additionally, China has set its 2025 GDP growth target at 5%, fueling hopes for sustained demand.

JSW Steel’s stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 1,063.35 in October 2024 and is now rebounding after recent weakness.

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