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Jindal Steel & Power Limited (JSPL) plans to become India's third-largest steel producer by 2015. By 2020, revenues from its steel business are expected to rise about five times to Rs 80,000-1,00,000 crore.
Currently, JSPL is India's sixth-largest steel maker.
V R Sharma, deputy managing director and chief executive (steel business), told Business Standard by 2015, the company would increase steel capacity to 14 million tonnes per annum (mtpa). In the same period, pellet (direct reduced iron) capacity would rise to 14.5 mtpa, he added.
The company would invest Rs 30,000 crore in setting up a steel plant in Angul, Odisha, with a capacity of six mtpa.
An additional Rs 11,000-12,000 crore would be invested in Patratu, Jharkhand, for steel capacity of three mtpa. Sharma said the company would continue to focus on its steel business and this would account for a major part of JSPL's portfolio. The company might consider separating the power and steel businesses and setting up two separate entities.
Jagannadham Thunuguntla, research head, SMC Global, said though there were challenges involved, the company would do well. Its results for the quarter ended March, as well as for 2012-13, are expected to better estimates.
The global scenario was a little vague, but the demand in the steel industry was expected to pick up with the revival of the US and Japanese markets, Thunuguntla said.
JSPL is set to announce its results for the quarter ended March on Thursday.
The capacity of JSPL's plant in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh, is three million tonnes. The company also has a 1.4-mt sponge iron plant and a 1.7-mt hot facility metal at Raigarh. JSPL has a 4.5-mt pellet plant at Barbil, Odisha, a 1.6-mt wire and bar mill at Patratu, Jharkhand, and a 1.5-mt HBI plant at Sohar, Oman.
In July 2010, JSPL had acquired Shadeed Iron & Steel, which had an installed 1.5-mtpa gas-based HBI plant at Sohar Industrial Port. It commenced production in January 2011. The company was adding capacity of two mtpa in Oman, with an investment of about Rs 6,000 crore, Sharma said.
JSPL has been aggressively looking at acquiring coking coal (a major ingredient for producing steel) and iron ore mines abroad. In its website, the company says there is strong demand for steel in West Asian and North African countries; here, the supply shortfall is estimated at about 15 mt. JSPL is also exploring steel production and mining projects in Brazil, Indonesia and Mongolia.
