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Informist, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026

 

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--Expect European steel prices to move away from Asian prices
--CONTEXT: Tata Steel management's comments in post-earnings analyst concall    
--Expect to see steel prices in Europe rise
--December quarter prices lowest in five years for flat products
--Prices have reached lowest level, see upside in Jan-Mar
--Not to exit captive mining, have mining reserves opening up
--Transitional plan of 2030 has been put in motion
--Expect EBITDA to improve in Q4 vs Q3
 

 

By Sunil Raghu and Shruti Nair

 

MUMBAI – Tata Steel Ltd. expects prices of steel in India and Europe to rise going ahead, driven by higher input costs in India and the European Union's climate policy tool that levies a price on carbon-intensive goods imported into the continent under the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.

 

"...December quarter prices, particularly in the first part of the quarter, was probably the lowest in the last five years for flat products," the company's management told analysts in a post-December quarter earnings call Friday. "So in some sense that was the bottom as far as the prices are concerned. So yes, we expect better numbers this quarter (Jan-Mar)."

 

With coking coal prices climbing, Tata Steel's management said it expects prices to climb back towards the cost of imported steel, which currently sells at a discount to domestically produced steel.

 

The company said prices in Europe could rise by as much as 100 euros, or around INR 10,700, over the year. Europe has a capacity to produce nearly 220 million tonnes of steel per annum. However, it produces around 130 million tonnes of steel and imports nearly 30 million tonnes every year. From Jul. 1, the EU will implement stricter norms on imports and cut the annual tariff-free import quota by nearly half and double the duty on imports exceeding these quotas. In addition, Europe has implemented Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism from Jan. 1, which requires importers to purchase certificates to match the EU's domestic emissions trading system price.

 

"So if you're selling into Europe, you know even in this quarter you'll have to factor in the CBAM prices and the impact of CBAM on the prices and then on top of that, you're going to have a reduction in imports and that's what is getting reflected in steel prices going up in Europe," the management said. "...because of these actions we expect that prices in Europe will move away from Asian prices and move towards the US prices." 

 

The company's management said its India operations will likely see an expansion in its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation in the March quarter, compared to the December quarter, driven by a rise in coking coal prices.

 

Tata Steel's management said it has kick-started transition planning for 2030 to streamline fixed costs and medium-term human resources planning. This involves lowering its mining costs without exiting captive mining operations. The management said the company will even open up mines it already holds and exploit its mining reserves.

 

Tata Steel also seeks to cut production costs by expanding operations to places other than Jamshedpur, including expanding the capacity of Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd. in Kalinganagar by 4.8 million tonnes per year in the first phase and setting up a 2.5-million-tonne-per-year thin slab casting and rolling facility at Meramandali in Odisha. The facilities are all located within a 200-kilometre radius, which the steelmaker said would help it achieve economies of scale. The company has also announced the setting up of a hot-rolled pickling and galvanising line with a capacity of 700,000 tonnes per year at its existing cold rolling complex in Maharashtra.

 

Tata Steel Friday reported its December quarter earnings post market hours. The company's consolidated net profit rose eight times on year to INR 26.89 billion. Its consolidated net revenue from operations was up 6% on year at INR 570.02 billion. On Friday, the company's shares ended at INR 197.06, down 0.35%, on the National Stock Exchange.  End

 

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

 

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