Dear Stakeholders,
It is a pleasure to address you once again as we reflect on the past financial year and
reinforce our strategic priorities and commitments to build a strong and sustainable
future.
The global economy demonstrated remarkable resilience in FY 2023-24, with continued
disinflation and steady growth. While the risk of a hard landing has decreased, ongoing
geopolitical tensions warrant some caution. Amid this backdrop, the Indian economy
continued on its growth path. Accelerated and broad-based development has made India a
multi-decade growth story. From being infamously included in a list of 'fragile five'
economies 10 years ago, to consistently being the world's fastest growing major economy
that is on track to becoming the world's third largest economy in the next 3-4 years, it's
been a fascinating journey. In the process, we have managed to pull around 250 million
people out of poverty over FY 2014-23 and taken the fruits of development to the last
mile.
Today, India is in a 'nation building' phase, driven by the government's push to
develop physical, digital and social infrastructure, with the ambitious vision of a
'Viksit Bharat' (developed economy) by 2047. Following the recently concluded general
elections, we expect that the government, in its third mandate, will continue this
development agenda, aided by ideas, reforms, and policy continuity.
Given the strong correlation that steel consumption has with economic growth, we see
multi-decadal themes playing out for steel demand across key sectors such as
infrastructure, real estate, transportation and energy transition. If the past is indeed a
prologue, this view aligns with the historical development trajectories of nations like
Germany, lapan, South Korea and China, where steel demand growth outpaced real GDP growth
for sustained periods. Continuing the momentum of the previous years, India's steel
consumption rose 13.4% to reach 136 million tonnes in FY 2023-24.
Setting new performance benchmarks in FY 2023-24
Amidst strong steel demand growth in India but a fairly challenging global environment,
our performance in FY 2023-24 underlines the strength and resilience of 1SW Steel.
We reported revenues of Rs. 1,75,006 crore (US$ 21.1 billion), EBITDA of Rs. 28,236
crore (US$ 3.4 billion) and PAT of Rs. 8,973 crore (US$ 1.1 billion), and operated our
plants at 92% utilisation. Apart from clocking the highest ever steel production and
sales, this was our highest ever annual revenues and second highest EBITDA and PAT.
Pioneering a sustainable future
We are transforming 1SW Steel as a company. Over the past lOyears, we have delivered
industry-leading growth - expanding our capacities, production, and EBITDA, and
benefitting from higher economies of scale. We have also augmented our value-added and
special steel product (VASP) capacities as well as range of capabilities. We have got
better integrated and enhanced raw material security. These initiatives have transformed
our scale, as well as EBITDA margins, enabling us to generate higher cash flows and fund
our growth primarily through internal accruals.
These transformative efforts have gathered further momentum and are being driven by
five key elements: Growth, Product Enrichment, Cost Optimisation, Raw Material Security,
and Sustainability S Green Steel. We are driving end-to-end digitalisation across the
value chain and staying focused on innovation and RSD. The initiatives in these five areas
will drive further improvement in 1SW Steel's scale and profitability.
Our growth plans mirror India's ambitions
To meet India's accelerating steel demand, we plan to reach a capacity of 50 MTPA in
India by the end of this decade, i.e., FY 2030-31. Our Board recently approved the next
major expansion of 5 MTPA at Dolvi, which will take our India capacity to 42 MTPA, and
total capacity to 43.5 MTPA by September 2027. This expansion will be at an
industry-leading capex cost of less than US$500 per tonne as it leverages the existing
infrastructure at the Dolvi site. This is emblematic of 1SW Steel's prowess of prudent
capital allocation, low project cost and efficient execution, that generates superior
returns for shareholders.
I am extremely proud of the fact that the steel we make goes into building marguee
infrastructure projects for India - from expressways to metro projects, water pipelines to
those carrying oil and gas, and from nuclear power plants, to wind and solar energy
projects. In fact, we are a leading supplier of steel for India's bullet train journey, ie
the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) project and the Atal Setu, Mumbai's
trans-harbour link, which is India's longest sea bridge of 21.8 km.
This year, we proudly celebrate 25 years of steelmaking at Vijayanagar. What started as
a greenfield venture, has now transformed us into India's largest steel producer.
Vijayanagar stands as India's largest single-location steel plant today.
Our vision is to make it the largest single-site steel plant globally, with the
potential to expand its capacity to 24 MTPA over time. This not only showcases our
accomplishments but also highlights our future ambitions as we continue to drive
innovation and excellence in steel production.
Enriching our product portfolio to shape the future
We are dedicated to research, innovation and development of new products. Our VASP
portfolio enables us to meet our customers' specialised reguirements and enhances our
profit margins. In fact, 61% of our total sales during FY 2023-24 was in the form of VASP.
We are the leading supplier to the automotive, appliance and renewables segments. To
enhance our electrical steel offerings, we entered into a new joint venture with our
longstanding partner, 1FE Steel of lapan, for establishing a cold-rolled grain-oriented
(CRG0) mill at Vijayanagar. This venture marks India's first end-to-end CRG0 product line.
In addition, we have the largest colour coating steel capacity in India and are among the
largest globally.
Enhancing raw material security and fortifying cost competitiveness
Raw material security and cost optimisation remain a key strategic priority for 1SW
Steel. We are focused on increasing captive iron ore production, and have a portfolio of
24 mines won through auctions, with 13 mines currently operational.
A significant development in our cost optimisation strategy is the 30 MTPA slurry
pipeline from our mines in Odisha to the port, which is slated for commissioning in FY
2026-27. We are also establishing an 8 MTPA pellet plant in Odisha for further value
addition of iron ore, enhancing our cost competitiveness.
We are working to operationalise three coking coal mines in India, which could provide
us with 2 MTPA of coking coal at a lower cost compared to imports. We have been actively
scouting for coking coal resources globally, and in May 2024, we announced the acguisition
of the Minas de Revuboe mine in Mozambigue, subject to approvals. The mine has over 800
million tonnes of high-guality hard coking coal reserves. We will work to operationalise
this project over the next few years.
Charting a greener path, targeting Net Neutral by2050
In January 2024, we announced our commitment to achieving net neutrality in carbon
emissions by 2050, significantly ahead of India's Net Zero commitments by 2070, through
both short-term and long-term initiatives. We recently published our first Climate Action
Report, which outlines our progress towards decarbonisation and future endeavours.
We have been progressing on our energy transition journey, with planned addition of 600
MW of solar and wind energy, combined with 320 MWh of battery storage. This takes our
total renewable energy procurement to over 1.6 GW. We also plan to establish a green steel
manufacturing facility at one of our existing sites, initially at 2 MTPA and expandable to
4 MTPA, catering to global customers seeking green steel.
Our sustainability efforts, meanwhile, continued to garner global recognition, with
Leadership ratings from CDP for climate change and for water. We were included in the Dow
Jones World and Emerging Markets Sustainability Indices.
We were recognised as a Sustainability Champion by the World Steel Association for the
sixth consecutive year. Our'SEED' decarbonisation initiative won the Global Energy
Transition Changemakers Award at C0P28 in Dubai. To drive product sustainability, we
obtained Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) for all our finished products, and our
Auto Steel and TMT were GreenPro certified as part of Ecolabelling.
Digitalisation driving efficiency, innovation and sustainability
We aim to be a digital-first organisation, integrating sustainability, governance, and
operational efficiency across all business units. One of our notable initiatives - Project
Sampark, our digital road logistics management system, aims to optimise logistics costs
using technology.
We continued to expand our product portfolio, introducing 51 new grades of steel
including 21 import substitution grades and 15 grades of advanced high strength steel
(AHSS).
We received 48 new product approvals from our customers in FY 2023-24. These
developments highlight our dedication to innovation and customer-centric solutions,
positioning us at the forefront of the industry.
Fostering a culture of health and safety, investing in excellence
We are building a strong health and safety culture, aligned with our commitment of no
harm to people, environment and society. We are focusing on capacity building by
leveraging technology and are undertaking focused interventions to drive results, such as
skill assessment of contract workmen, safety experience centres at plants, and Contractor
Assessment and Rating for Excellence in Safety (CARES) for assessing the safety
performance of contractors. In addition, we have implemented a safety champion programme
for our employees. Our Safety Experience Centres at Vijayanagar and Dolvi provide
immersive training environments to stimulate real-life scenarios, enabling our workforce
to develop practical skills and reinforce safe work practices.
JSW Steel remains committed to nurturing talent, furthering continuous learning and
professional development for every member of the team, promoting diversity, and ensuring
we are adeguately planning for succession. We are dedicated to employee excellence and
have partnered with premier institutions such as IIM Ahmedabad, MM Bangalore, I IT Bombay,
and ISB in India, and Cornell and Brown University in USA for comprehensive training and
development. We recently launched the JSW Steel Technical Academy, which is a curated and
self-paced e-learning platform. We have partnered with the World Steel Association to
deliver cutting-edge courses for every aspect of steelmaking.
We continue with our efforts to increase our gender diversity, and efforts are
channeled towards implementing policies and recruitment initiatives across the
organisation. Last year, 26% of new Graduate Engineer Trainees hired were women. Along
with this, we hired ex-servicewomen from the Armed Forces in core technical functions.
JSW Steel continues to be certified as a Great Place to Work (GPTW), and we were also
recognised with 'India's Best Employers Among Nation Builders - 2023' award. Recently,
JSW Steel has also been awarded by GPTW for its Health and Wellness program.
Making a difference to more than a million lives
We continue to make a difference to the lives of communities, especially around our
operations across eight key focus areas of health and nutrition; education; water,
environment and sanitation; waste management; agriculture; skill development; sports; and
art, culture and heritage. In FY 2023-24, our education programs covered 2,50,000 children
in 1,400 schools through JSW Aspire and Room to Read programs. Ourwater harvesting
initiatives benefitted 2,50,000 people.
Another marguee initiative was Hampi Art Labs in Vijayanagar, which will engage with
local community and international visitors with contemporary art in all forms. This is the
first in a series of sites in the arts ecosystem of India. During FY 2023- 24, our
community initiatives covered more than 575 villages, bringing positive change to life and
livelihood of more than a million people.
Looking ahead with optimism and purpose
At JSW Steel, we are in a 'mission mode' to play a key role in realising the full
potential of the India growth story. I remain very confident about the future prospects of
the steel industry in India.
Our commitment to nation building also extends to realising our dreams of seeing the
nation as a sporting power. As the sponsor of Team India, our efforts are directed towards
creating champions, proudly standing on the podium at the Paris Olympics in 2024.
Before concluding, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to all our stakeholders for their
continued support. I would like to acknowledge the outstanding team at JSW Steel, whose
persistent commitment and tireless efforts drive us towards excellence each day. I would
also like to express my appreciation to our Board members, whose guidance and advice have
been vital in shaping our strategic path and accomplishing our objectives. As we look
towards the future with optimism and determination, JSW Steel remains steadfast in its
pursuit of excellence and sustainable growth. Together, we will continue to build a
brighter future for JSW Steel and contribute to the progress of our great nation.
Sincerely,
Sajjan Jindal