JSW Steel misses FY20 production guidance, output down

JSW Steel reported that it has achieved 97.3 per cent production guidance for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2020. The company attributed a decline in production in the fourth quarter of FY20 to the lockdown amid Coronavirus fears.

Its total crude steel output for FY20 stood at 16.06 million tonnes against the production guidance of 16.50 million tonnes for the year. It is down by four per cent from FY19. In the previous fiscal, it had reported crude steel production at 16.69 million tonnes, which was its highest-ever production at an utilisation rate of 93 per cent thereby, hampering its revenue growth guidance for the fiscal year FY19-20.

The steel output for the month of January and February showed signs of recovery with nearly one per cent growth on YoY basis. However, the lockdown and weak manpower during March has led to a decline in the production for the quarter. The crude steel production stood at 3.97 million tonnes, which is five per cent less than that of 4.17 million tonnes of the same quarter last fiscal. The production details submitted by the company for 9MFY20 period had not given any positive signs with production, which is already down by three per cent on YoY basis in the above-mentioned period. Hence, the fall in output may have come on the expected lines.

On Tuesday, the stock surged by more than six per cent to trade at Rs 149 a piece on BSE.