India’s major steel companies are taking advantage of the rise in metal prices to deleverage their balance sheets and speed up debt repayments. Large steel companies such as Tata Steel, Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) and Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) are among the companies that have reduced debt between 28% and 31% in the recent quarters. As steel prices remain firm amid a demand surge in global markets, Indian steel companies are expected to accelerate the pace of debt reduction in the coming years, said experts. State-owned SAIL shaved off gross debt by ₹16,150 crore in FY21, making it the second steel company after Tata Steel to carry out such an aggressive deleveraging of the balance sheet. The feverish rise in global steel prices is proving to be a boon for steel companies, which are making the most of it.

Source: Mint May 10, 2021 17:03 UTC