Jindal Stainless pitches for imposition of CVD on stainless steel imports

Jindal Stainless Limited (JSL) managing director Abhyuday Jindal has pitched for the imposition of countervailing duty (CVD) to protect the domestic stainless steel manufacturing industry in the country.

A market leader in the domestic market, Jindal Stainless faces stiff competition from cheap imports, especially from China. 

Jindal said that there has been continuous dumping for several years and it was hampering the domestic industry.

He said China was occupying close to 30 per cent of the market share in India.

“There were some imports from Japan and Korea, but those were directly into the auto sector,” Jindal said.

From a price perspective, Chinese stainless steel was 15-20 per cent cheaper than the domestic variety.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is currently reviewing CVD imposition on stainless steel.

“If the PMO can intervene and take action and give us protection on this issue, it gives a ray of hope for us.  We are waiting to hear back from them,” he said.

Jindal also pointed out that the US and several European nations have imposed duty on Chinese imports.

“India is practically the only market open to China where they are able to dump their goods,” he added.

The clamour for CVD is getting louder with the slowdown in export markets.

Going forward, Jindal expects “flattish” volumes in Q2 due to dumping.

“We are not seeing any respite from dumping that is happening from China. If there is some respite and the CVD does come into play, we can give much higher guidance,” he said.

Typically, exports account for about 25-30 per cent of sales volumes.

This year, it is around 15 per cent on a higher volume base, he said.

“Europe and the US are a bit down compared to our levels,” he explained.

The company, however, is pushing exports in South Korea, South America and the Middle East. 

The growth in the domestic market had been good, which is reflected in the company’s performance in the first quarter of the financial year.

Jindal Stainless Q1 net up over 49%

Jindal Stainless on Wednesday reported a 49.74 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 745.81 crore in the June quarter (Q1FY24) led by domestic demand.

Net profit in the year-ago period stood at Rs 498.06 crore.

Consolidated revenue was at Rs 10,183.96 crore, higher by 25.44 per cent as sales volume increased. 

Sequentially, the company’s net profit was down by 2.61 per cent and revenues grew by 4.29 per cent.