Tata Steel to ramp up NINL operation to 1.1 MTPA within a year: Chairman

Tata Steel Chairman N Chandrasekaran on Tuesday said the company, after completing acquisition, will boost the operation of Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd to rated capacity of 1.1 million tonne per annum within the next one year.

However, the ramping up of the operations of Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd (NINL) would be subject to obtaining statutory clearances.

"Post-acquisition, we will endeavour to ramp up the operations of NINL to its rated capacity of 1.1 million ton per annum within the next 1 year, subject to obtaining statutory clearances," Chandrasekaran said in his address to shareholders during company's 115th Annual General Meeting.

 

Tata Steel arm, Tata Steel Long Products (TSLP), in January this year won the bid to acquire a 93.71 per cent stake in NINL at an enterprise value of Rs 12,100 crore, leaving behind the likes of a consortium of Jindal Steel and Power Limited, Nalwa Steel and Power Ltd, and JSW Steel Limited.

A top official of the steel company last month said that Tata Steel will complete the acquisition of NINL by the end of the first quarter of FY23.

The company, Chandrasekaran said, made significant acquisitions during the year in areas of long products, mining, and advanced materials adding that the most notable among these is the buyout of Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd for an aggregate consideration of Rs 12,100 crore.

"The acquisition is particularly important considering the proximity of the NINL plant to our Kalinganagar plant and its potential to become the hub for long products business in the near future," he said.

Towards organic growth, Tata Steel continued to accelerate its capital allocation for the 6 million tonne per annum (MTPA) pellet plant and 2.2 MTPA cold rolling mill complex as part of the five MTPA expansion at Kalinganagar.

The 6 MTPA pellet plant will be commissioned in the third quarter of the ongoing fiscal, followed by the cold roll mill complex and the 5 MTPA expansion, which will drive cost savings and product mix enrichment.

In Europe, Tata Steel achieved complete separation of its UK and Netherlands operations, in October last year.

Under the new structure, Tata Steel UK and Tata Steel Netherlands will operate as two independent companies pursuing separate strategic paths.

The company's growth plans continue to be governed by the demand forecast, size of business opportunity, scope for enhancements in its product portfolio and overall balance sheet impact while remaining cognizant of changing regulatory imperatives.