The higher target comes as the company emerges from a period of weak steel prices and margin pressure, even as it steps up efforts to secure raw materials and looks for early signs of a recovery in demand.
The 56 mtpa target excludes the company’s recently inked joint venture with Japan’s JFE Steel Corp., under which JSW sold half its stake in subsidiary Bhushan Power and Steel Ltd (BPSL). Including BPSL, the company was likely to top 60 mtpa by FY31, said Jayant Acharya, joint managing director and chief executive officer, in an interview with Mint.
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“So we expect to be—without the expansion of the BPSL joint venture—at 56 million tonnes by the end of (FY) 2031,” Acharya said. Out of that 1.5 mtpa will be in the US, while the remaining 54.5 mtpa will be in India.
In addition, the management sees further upside from BPSL, where capacity could potentially be expanded to 10 million tonnes from the current 4.5 million tonnes, although this will be pursued independently by the joint venture partners. “That will be a parallel track which the joint venture partners will decide and then take on,” Acharya said.
The company has also charted a plan to spend ₹1 trillion over the next four to five years for capacity expansion.
“We will give you a break-up year-wise in our annual (and) fourth (quarter) results in May, but roughly four to five years, you can spread it equally. It will be a little higher in the next year, next two years, and then slowly go down,” Acharya told analysts Friday evening during a post Q3 earnings interaction.
At present, JSW Steel has a capacity of 35.7 mtpa, including 4.5 mtpa of BPSL and 1.5 mtpa in Ohio, US.
Collectively, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Steel Authority of India and AMNS India will add around 63.7 mtpa of capacity by 2031. Tata Steel is set to add roughly 13.4 mtpa, taking its capacity from 26.6 mtpa to 40 mtpa. SAIL’s expansion will contribute another 14 mtpa, with capacity rising from 21 mtpa to 35 mtpa, while AMNS is planning a sharp scale-up of 16 mtpa, increasing capacity from 9 mtpa to 25 mtpa.
Raw material push
Alongside capacity growth, JSW Steel is stepping up efforts to secure raw materials. Acharya said the company expects to meet around 50% of its iron ore requirement from captive mines by FY31, supported by 23 operating mines across multiple states.
On coking coal, the company is targeting 25% captive sourcing, which could rise to 33-35% once it completes the acquisition of a potential coking coal mine in Mozambique.
Looking ahead, after multi-year low steel prices and higher input costs weighed on earnings, Acharya said the current quarter is showing signs of recovery.
“I think probably now with the rupee depreciation as well as some improvement in the domestic demand, I think the prices will come to more reasonable levels during this quarter,” the chief executive said. While he could not give guidance on the extent of price rises, he said higher coking coal costs will also lead to an increase in prices.
“We estimate an impact of $15-20 per tonne from higher coking coal price in the current quarter, which we expect to mitigate through pricing and cost measures,” he said.
JSW Steel reported a consolidated net profit of ₹2,139 crore for the quarter ended 31 December 2025, up from ₹717 crore a year ago. The profit beat the ₹1,406.7 crore consensus estimate of 13 analysts polled by Bloomberg.
The Mumbai-headquartered steelmaker reported an 11% year-on-year jump in revenue from operations to ₹45,991 crore. Adjusted Ebitda rose 22% on year to ₹6,620 crore, with an Ebitda margin of 14.4%.
For the December quarter, profit was boosted by a one-time deferred tax asset recognition of ₹1,439 crore linked to BPSL and an exceptional employee-related provision of ₹529 crore arising from changes in labour codes.
Excluding these items, profitability was lower sequentially due to weaker realisations and higher coal costs, although value-added products helped cushion the impact, Acharya added.
The adjusted Ebitda excludes unrealized forex gains and losses on long-term borrowings, net of unrealised forex gains and losses on intercompany receivables.
Regulatory scrutiny
On allegations of price collusion reported in the media, Acharya said he does not see any merit in the case and that JSW Steel remains compliant with competition laws.
“JSW Steel remains fully confident in its compliance with all the applicable competition laws and the laws of the land,” he said, adding that the product in question—the TMT market—is highly price-sensitive and dominated by secondary players.
Earlier this month, India’s competition watchdog found that market leaders JSW Steel, Tata Steel, state-run SAIL and 25 other firms colluded on steel selling prices, according to a Reuters report citing a confidential document, potentially exposing the companies and their executives to hefty fines.
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