Shaping a resilient tomorrow
through transformation

How would you assess Tata Steel’s performance during FY2024-25?

FY2024-25 was a significant year in terms of both the commissioning of our most important growth project in India as well as the critical transition out of legacy end-of-life assets in the UK. In India, we recorded our highest-ever crude steel production of 21.7 million tonnes and deliveries of 20.9 million tonnes, supported by the commissioning of the 5 MTPA blast furnace, India’s largest, at Kalinganagar. In the UK, we completed the shift from integrated steelmaking to a downstream-only processing based model using imported substrate, while still maintaining deliveries at 2.5 million tonnes and reducing fixed costs by £230 million. In the Netherlands, production volumes have returned to near capacity levels this year at 6.75 million tonnes, having stabilised after the complex and protracted blast furnace reline in FY2023-24, and deliveries increased 17% y-o-y to 6.25 million tonnes, the highest in six years.

Despite challenging market conditions punctuated by multiyear lows in steel price to raw material spreads, the Company achieved consolidated revenues of ₹2,18,543 crore and an EBITDA of ₹25,802 crore, marking a 10% y-o-y increase. While the consolidated revenues declined 5% due to lower realisations, the improvement in EBITDA was driven by higher volumes and cost control initiatives across geographies. The Indian operations delivered an impressive 22% EBITDA margin, underscoring the structural cost advantages and strong market position. The turnround of operations in NINL has been impressive given that the plant had been closed for two years at the time of acquisition. Now operating at rated capacity, it delivered ₹1,000 crore EBITDA in FY2024-25. Tata Tiscon grew 19% y-o-y to 2.4 million tonnes, with the overall branded products vertical achieving volumes of 7 million tonnes, aided by best ever sales of Tata Astrum and Tata Steelium, along with Tata Tiscon. Tata Steel Nederland EBITDA was €90 million, a significant turnaround from €426 million negative EBITDA in FY2023-24, although there are significant cost reduction and performance improvement initiatives which are underway to bring performance to benchmark levels in the coming years. Given that this was a transition year, the UK operations reported an EBITDA loss of £385 million but the cost base has structurally improved and will see a further significant reduction in FY2025-26.

The Profit after Tax on a consolidated basis rebounded to ₹3,174 crore from a loss of ₹4,910 crore in FY2023-24 and operating cash flows stood at ~₹23,500 crore, registering a 16% y-o-y increase.

What are Tata Steel’s capex plans, cost optimisation strategy and deleveraging agenda for FY2025-26?

Capex in FY2024-25 amounted to ₹15,671 crore. In FY2025-26, the Company targets ₹15,000 crore of capex, with ~75% of this capex in India operations where we are driving growth and the remainder in Europe towards sustenance, environmental and essential capex besides initial spend towards the decarbonisation projects. Key investments in India include completion of the Kalinganagar expansion, construction of the Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) project in Ludhiana, the completion of the 0.5 MTPA Combi Mill, and preparatory work for NINL’s next phase of growth.

Tata Steel executed a company-wide programme in FY2024-25, achieving structural performance improvements and cost takeouts of approximately ₹6,600 crore. These are achieved through the initiatives in product mix, operational efficiency, procurement, supply chain, employee productivity, and lean stores, repairs and maintenance practices. In India, improvements of ₹2,800 crore were achieved, while Tata Steel UK and Tata Steel Nederland delivered improvements of ₹2,600 crore and ₹1,150 crore respectively. The programme will continue into FY2025-26, with a further ₹11,500 crore in targeted improvements across the Tata Steel Group.

On the deleveraging front, the Company reduced net debt by ₹6,200 crore in H2 FY2024-25 to ₹82,579 crore. The Company will stay the course in FY2025-26 by improving cash flows, through cost take-out initiatives and operational efficiencies to bring down our debt level further.

How is Tata Steel managing the ongoing structural transformation away from blast furnace-based steelmaking in Europe?

Tata Steel UK is undergoing a fundamental transformation. We have exited from steelmaking through the end-of-life heavy end assets in Port Talbot, and moved to a downstream model using imported substrate from India, the Netherlands and other external sources. We are now transitioning to decarbonised and state-of-the-art EAF-based steelmaking by FY2027-28, supported by £500 million in the UK Government funding. Planning approval has been received for the EAF project at Port Talbot and the construction is expected to commence in July 2025. The structural transition is also accompanied by a significant focus on cost rationalisation. We plan to bring down our fixed costs further from £762 million in FY2024-25 to £540 million in the coming year. The reductions are based on optimising substrate costs, modernising IT infrastructure, rationalising downstream operations and eliminating corporate overheads.

In the Netherlands, we are in continued intense discussion with the Dutch Government to secure ‘tailor made’ funding and policy support for an integrated project to transition out of one of the two blast furnaces and coke ovens each, by around the end of the decade and into a direct reduced iron (DRI)-EAF based production process, as well as to address the environmental concerns of the local community and authorities. The Dutch Government has completed a detailed diligence of TSN's integrated plan for decarbonisation and environmental measures. The Government's team has also submitted formal communications to the Dutch Parliament on the progress of negotiations including next steps towards a Joint Letter of Intent to be filed before the Parliament and the submission of the proposed project to the European Commission. The Company expects to formalise an agreement with the Dutch Government in the near term. In parallel, we have launched a cost transformation programme targeting €500 million in savings by FY2025-26. This transformation plan focuses on improving volume maximisation, optimising product-mix, enhancing maintenance practices and boosting employee productivity. It is designed to position Tata Steel Nederland as one of the most efficient and environmentally sustainable steelmaking sites in Europe.

How has the performance of Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited (NINL) evolved post-acquisition?

NINL has undergone a remarkable turnaround in the 3 years since acquisition as the plant had been closed for the previous 2 years with significant inherent structural imbalances. In FY2024- 25, it has contributed ₹1,000 crore in annual EBITDA with margins of 19%. Optimisation of inventory levels across quarters aided working capital movement leading to a release of more than ₹240 crore and generation of free cash flows in excess of ₹1,000 crore. This performance is a testament to the rapid operational improvements and cost efficiency measures undertaken by Tata Steel. NINL now stands as one of the most promising growth platforms for the Company, with engineering work on the next phase of expansion with the process of seeking regulatory clearances for the build underway.

What is the rationale behind the announcement of $2.5 billion infusion into the European operation through the Singapore subsidiary?

The $2.5 billion, while an infusion of equity into a wholly owned subsidiary, does not represent a newly sanctioned investment of capital into the overseas business. It is part of the execution of the existing announced business plan and for repayment of existing debt facilities in the consolidated balance sheet in accordance with the financing plan. Only a small portion of this amount will be used to fund the EAF project in the UK, where we bear 60% of the cost alongside the 40% government support.

What were the major sustainability initiatives in India during the year?

Tata Steel introduced a virtual Carbon Bank, a first in India, to track and manage CO₂ reductions across its operations, aligning with global carbon accounting standards. The Company also pioneered the use of biochar as a fossil fuel replacement in its blast furnaces, reducing carbon emissions. It also completed the first full-laden leg on B24 biofuel for raw material shipment, marking a significant step towards decarbonising its logistics.

Supporting India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission, the Company became the first Indian steelmaker to demonstrate end-to-end capabilities in developing steel pipes suitable for hydrogen transportation.

Again, for the eighth consecutive year, the Company was recognised by worldsteel as a Sustainability Champion. The Company also received the CII Climate Action Programme (CAP) 2.0 Resilient Award for the third consecutive time in the Energy, Mining and Heavy Manufacturing category, acknowledging its proactive efforts in climate change mitigation and integration of sustainability into core strategy.

Tata Steel signed an MoU with Monash University, Australia, to accelerate its innovation in decarbonisation technologies, resource recovery and sustainable manufacturing.

How is Tata Steel leveraging technology and innovation for competitiveness?

Technology and innovation are central to Tata Steel’s strategy to build and sustain long-term competitiveness across the value chain. Over the past five years, the Company has invested more than ₹1,600 crore in research and development, which enabled us to make significant advances in product innovation and operational excellence.

Tata Steel became the first company to develop and localise advanced materials such as CP780 high-strength steel and commenced supply of DP780 to automotive OEMs, further aiding their lightweighting initiatives. The Company was also the first to develop X65H line pipe steel for hydrogen transport supporting the clean energy and infrastructure sector.

Tata Steel has emerged as a national leader in intellectual property and was honoured with National Intellectual Property Award by Indian Patent Office and the World Intellectual Property Award by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

On the digitalisation front, the Company has deployed over 558 AI models across critical areas such as process control, predictive and prescriptive maintenance, procurement analytics, boulder detection at mines, and integrated operational management. Our digital tools and analytics platforms allow us to see granular cost details and take more informed decisions. For instance, through prescriptive maintenance we have significantly improved asset utilisation, reliability, and uptime.

What were the key workforce initiatives undertaken by Tata Steel in this year to advance diversity, equity and inclusion?

In FY2024-25, Tata Steel deepened its commitment to building a truly inclusive and equitable workplace through several pioneering initiatives. One of the most significant milestones was the launch of the world's first all-women shift in mining operations at our Noamundi iron mine, building on the success of our 'Women@Mines' and 'Tejaswini' programmes.

In an Industry first-step challenging gender norms, women employees now lead end-to-end mining activities, from operating Heavy Earth Moving Machinery (HEMM), drills, loaders to supervising the shifts.

The Company, through its 'Flames of Change' initiative, inducted women firefighter trainees, making it the first in India’s steel sector to create an all-women firefighting crew.

Our progressive HR policies offer equal benefits for LGBTQIA+ partners, gender-neutral parental leaves, support for gender transition, and inclusive relocation and travel benefits. Active support to Employee Resource Groups (ERG) such as MOSAIC and WINGS, help build an ally-driven culture. The Company was recognised as the Gold Employer by India Workplace Equality Index (IWEI) for the fourth consecutive year for its inclusion programmes that focus on gender, sexual orientation, and differently abled inclusion.

Highlight the community and social initiatives undertaken by the Company during this year?

Tata Steel continued to build on its long-standing legacy of nation-building and community empowerment by implementing high-impact, scalable social initiatives aligned with 68 targets across 15 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We spent ₹585 crore in CSR this year, taking the total investment to ₹2,274 crore on standalone basis over the last five years. Through our interventions, we impacted the lives of over 5.77 million people in FY2024-25, across critical areas of education, health, livelihoods, infrastructure, and inclusion.

In education, we facilitated the return of more than 22,400 out-of-school children to formal learning. In health and nutrition, a 93% redressal rate was achieved in high-risk cases involving pregnant women and children. Grassroots sports reached over 43,000 youth, while over 45,000 individuals were engaged in tribal language classes, preserving their cultural identity. Climateresilient agricultural practices were adopted by over 33,500 households, reflecting an 80% increase y-o-y. Water conservation efforts led to the creation of nearly 116 million cubic feet of storage capacity and we completed over 500 public infrastructure projects. Empowerment programmes enrolled over 2,500 women in leadership training, and the SABAL initiative connected over 14,000 Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) to platforms promoting skill development, employability, and dignity. In a push towards participatory governance, communities were enabled to unlock over ₹5,300 crore in public funds.

The efforts reflect Tata Steel’s holistic approach to building social capital, fostering inclusion and delivering meaningful and scalable impact across the regions where it operates.

What is Tata Steel’s long-term growth vision, and how is it progressing towards its capacity targets?

Tata Steel’s long-term growth vision is based on continuing to build steel capacity and participate in the growth trajectory of India— the second largest market for steel in the world, leverage its leading brands, build market share in value added products and secure raw materials for its operations. We will do this through a carefully planned and phased approach. The immediate focus will be on the completion of the 5 MTPA Phase II expansion at Kalinganagar, the 0.75 MTPA Ludhiana EAF plant and the 0.5 MTPA Combi Mill. The next phase of expansion will be around the Phase I of the NINL growth project. Regulatory approvals are being secured including the environmental clearance to scale the site up to 9.5 MTPA. Following this, the Company will prioritise the next phase of capacity expansion in Meramandali and Kalinganagar.

The Company’s approach to new projects has been refined with stronger processes geared towards optimisation of capex and adherence to schedule. It will initiate construction only after full regulatory readiness, but the implementation would now be faster. While growing in capacity terms, it is also important to de-bottleneck and continuously improve performance of existing assets while maintaining a resilient balance sheet which can weather the inherent cyclicality of the steel business. This will also mean continuing to make smaller investments in value-added downstream projects and high-return projects to unlock more value in the existing installations.