Tata Steel profit surges in September quarter, beats estimates

Tata Steel Ltd on Wednesday reported stronger-than-expected net profit for the September quarter—a nearly fourfold year-on-year jump to ₹3,101.75 crore — driven by higher deliveries in India and the Netherlands, and due to cost control measures.

The figure surpassed a Bloomberg estimate of ₹2,739.58 crore based on a poll of 16 analysts. Sequentially, the steelmaker’s profits rose 49%.

Consolidated Ebitda—earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization—of India’s second-largest steelmaker by capacity rose 45% to ₹8,897 crore compared to the same quarter last year, and 20% sequentially.

“Ebitda on a consolidated basis is a good jump, and it's ahead of consensus, so good numbers from Tata Steel, and that is because of the higher sales volume across geographies and mainly in India,” said Aditya Welekar, senior research analyst, metals at Axis Securities.

Tata Steel’s consolidated revenue from operations rose 9% compared to the same quarter a year ago and 10% sequentially to ₹58,689 crore in the July-September quarter. The company’s crude steel production in India rose 8% sequentially to 5.65 million tonnes, while deliveries increased 17% to 5.55 million tonnes, aided by higher domestic sales.

Despite global challenges such as tariffs, geopolitical tensions and elevated steel exports, the company delivered a “resilient performance” said T.V. Narendran, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of Tata Steel in a company statement. “We continue to strengthen our market leadership across key segments, underpinned by capacity expansion and a focused downstream strategy.”

The company’s cost transformation initiatives contributed ₹2,561 crore in savings during the quarter, said Koushik Chatterjee, executive director and chief financial officer (CFO), in the statement. “We remain focused on volume growth in India, strengthening raw material linkages and optimising capital allocation,” he added.

Tata Steel shares closed 1.3% lower at ₹178.70 on Wednesday, even as the benchmark Nifty closed 0.70% higher. The earnings were announced after market hours.

Analyst views

“Indian operations sales volume were higher, costs were under control, so operating leverage kicked in. However UK operations continued to remain weak on account of subdued demand. The management’s commentary on achieving Ebitda break-even at its UK operations will be in focus, as losses widened during the quarter,” said Welekar.

Another analyst shared similar sentiments.

According to Satyadeep Jain, lead analyst for cement, metals, mining & utilities at Ambit Capital, the earnings beat was driven largely by the company’s Indian operations, supported by strong volumes and effective cost controls. “Investors will keenly watch the management’s commentary on the breakdown of cost savings and the Ebitda break-even guidance for the UK business,” he said.

For the overseas operations, the steelmaker’s Netherlands operations reported an Ebitda of €92 million compared to €64 million in Q1FY26. However, the UK Ebitda loss widened to £66 million compared to a loss of £41 million in 1QFY26 due to subdued demand.

Quarterly moves

The steelmaker spent ₹3,250 crore on capital expenditure during the quarter and ₹7,079 crore during the half year.

During the quarter, the steelmaker signed a non-binding letter of intent with the Dutch government on the health and decarbonisation project for its IJmuiden plant in the Netherlands. “We remain focused on transitioning our UK and Netherlands businesses to economically and environmentally viable operations,” Narendran said.

Chatterjee said that the steelmaker is “closely monitoring policy developments in EU and UK and will look to prioritise, optimise and sequence the decarbonisation capex spend such that it is affordable to all stakeholders.”

The steelmaker’s board also approved the acquisition of the remaining 50% stake in Tata BlueScope Steel Pvt. Ltd for up to ₹1,100 crore, making it a wholly owned subsidiary after regulatory approvals and called this move “in line with our objective to grow the downstream portfolio”.