The World Steel Association (WSA) forecasts the global steel demand to grow by 5.8% in 2021 primarily supported by a robust consumption growth of 9.1% in China and by substantial fiscal stimulus measures in most of the advanced economies. Domestically, India's steel demand is expected to rebound by 19.8% in 2021 21 after declining 13.7% in 2020, while the growth in 2022 is expected to be lower at 5.9%. The economy has been recovering strongly since August last year, much sharper than...

During the quarter, overall recovery in steel production led to a small-pickup in graphite electrodes demand. Going forward, steel industry production growth trend is likely to continue with a healthy recovery in major steel consuming industries like construction and automobiles. The domestic steel industry is also poised to grow with the recent announcement of increased government spending on infrastructure. The combination of these factors may drive demand for steel and graphite electrodes in the near term. Graphite electrode prices have started to stabilise and a positive recovery is likely in coming quarters. Needle coke prices have also stabilised and may...

On the back of a muted demand scenario, GIL reported a subdued operational performance for both standalone and consolidated operations. For H1FY21, on a standalone basis, topline fell 52%YoY to | 823 crore (| 1730 crore in H1FY20). It reported an EBITDA loss of | 107 crore. Standalone operations reported a net loss of | 8 crore in H1FY21 (PAT of | 362 crore in H1FY20). Similarly, on a consolidated basis, GIL's topline came in at | 894 crore (down 52% YoY, | 1849 crore in H1FY20). It reported consolidated EBITDA loss of | 209 crore. The ensuing consolidated net loss...

fficial figures suggest that India consumed over 100 MT of steel in 2019. Moody's expects India'ss steel demand to decline by 10% in FY21. Globally the demand for steel is expected to drop by 6.4% on account of the pandemic, while developed and developing economies (excluding China) are forecast to decline by 17.1% and 11.6% respectively primarily led by...

HEG reported a subdued set of Q1FY21 numbers on account of a muted operational performance wherein it reported a loss at the EBITDA level. For standalone operations, topline came in at | 233.3 crore (down 71% YoY) & reported EBITDA loss came in at | 11.3 crore (vs. EBITDA profit of | 347.8 crore in Q1FY20). For the quarter, it reported a negative EBITDA margin of 4.8% compared to positive margin of 42.6% in Q1FY20. During the quarter, as the lockdown was in force for a significant period, the company's operations and financial results were impacted. On account of Covid-19...

Graphite India (GIL) reported a subdued set of Q1FY21 numbers wherein it reported a consolidated loss at the EBITDA, PAT level. During the quarter, the performance was impacted by inventory write down taken by the company. For Q1FY21, GIL reported a consolidated topline of | 409 crore (down 58% YoY, 32% QoQ), compared to our estimate of | 335 crore. Better than expected topline was on account of higher-than-expected capacity utilisation. Consolidated capacity utilisation in Q1FY21 was at 36% (75% in Q1FY20, 41% in Q4FY20), higher than our estimate of 30%. Consolidated...

Revise down capacity utilisation levels on subdued demand On account of subdued demand from the steel sector (especially in H1FY21), we downward revise our capacity utilisation estimates for FY21E. For FY21E, we model capacity utilisation of 50% (downward revise from 75% earlier)....

Revise down capacity utilisation estimates on subdued demand On account of subdued demand from the steel sector (especially in H1FY21), we downward revise our capacity utilisation estimates for FY21E. For FY21E, we model capacity utilisation of 53% for standalone operations (downward revise from 77.5% earlier) and 50% for consolidated operations (downward revise from 70% earlier). We also introduce FY22E capacity utilisation levels. For FY22E, we model standalone capacity utilisation at 65% and consolidated capacity utilisation at 60%....

According to Mordor Intellegence, the market for refractories is anticipated to register a CAGR of 5.2% and reach a size of USD 48 billion by 2023. The increase in demand from iron & steel, glass, nonnon ferrous metals, and power generation industries would fuel the refractories market. Intensifying demand for glass, cement, steel etc. in...

The global refractories market demand is set to rise from USD 30 billion in 2018 to around USD 41 billion by 2025, according to a 2019 Global Market Insights Inc. report. Increase in demand...

Graphite India reported a steady Q4FY19 performance wherein the topline came in broadly in line with our estimates while EBITDA and PAT came in higher than our estimate. On a consolidated basis, Graphite India reported capacity utilisation of 85% (80% in Q3FY19 and 91% in Q4FY18, in line with our estimate of 85%). The consolidated topline came in at | 1693 crore (down 8.7% QoQ, up 28.0% YoY, broadly in line with than our estimate: | 1677 crore). Consolidated EBITDA for the quarter was at | 864 crore (up 20% YoY, down 20% QoQ, higher than our estimate of | 778 crore). EBITDA...

First half of current fiscal saw an improvement in finished steel production and consumption, which grew by 6% (yoy) and 7.8% (yoy) to 53.9 mn tons and 47.7 mn tons respectively, compared to a yoy growth of 2.5% and 7.6% respectively...

Our detailed interaction with Orient Refractories (ORL) & RHI Magnesita management on the side-lines of ORL AGM pointed towards i) increased focus of the group in transitioning to a bigger entity in India with substantial market share, ii) addition of production capability for meeting both domestic and export demand and iii) reduction in margins from a high base of FY18 at both ORL and RHI India led by RM cost inflation. Revenue growth is expected to remain solid but earnings growth would be lower due to normalisation of margins. Though we remain structurally positive on ORL led by best in class capital as well as operational costs,...

Riding the golden wave of GE, retain Hold We continue to remain positive on prospects of Graphite India (GIL) led by our view of electrode industry remaining in an upcycle for next few years as postulated in our recent sector report. We continue to expect extremely strong earnings trajectory for GIL in next few years with peak earnings in FY19E and moderation kicking in from FY20E/21E. GIL remains the best bet to play the electrode upcycle with healthy balance sheet, strong adj. FCF generation, high dividend payout and strong management pedigree. GIL reported another record earnings performance...

Golden times continue getting better, retain Hold We continue to remain positive on prospects of Graphite India (GIL) led by our view of electrode industry remaining in an upcycle for next few years as postulated in our recent sector report. We continue to expect extremely strong earnings trajectory for GIL in next few years with peak earnings in FY19E and moderation kicking in from FY20E. GIL remains the best bet to play the electrode upcycle with healthy balance sheet, strong adj. FCF generation, high dividend payout and strong management pedigree. Q4 results were well above expectations and...