Arcelor Mittal and Nippon Steel To Invest $7.4 Billion To Increase Output Capacity
AMNS India plans to invest $7.4 billion in capacity expansion and value-added capabilities, including investments in both upstream and downstream capacities and iron ore capabilities, the company announced on Thursday.
AMNS India, a joint venture between ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel, currently has a capacity of 9 million tonnes of steel per year at its Hazira plant.
Its investments include increasing the Hazira plant's upstream capacity to 15 million tonnes by early 2026. AMNS Luxembourg Holding, AMNS India's parent company, recently signed a $5 billion loan agreement with a consortium of Japanese banks to fund this expansion.
AMNS India will also invest $1 billion in downstream facilities at its plant in Hazira, Gujarat, to meet rising automobile demand.
The company is also constructing slurry pipelines to connect its mines to its beneficiation plants in Thakurani and Sagasahi, as well as ore beneficiation in Odisha, according to an update to investors following its quarterly earnings.
In the March quarter, the company's crude steel production increased nearly 9% sequentially to 1.76 million tonne, while shipments increased 15% quarter on quarter to 1.83 million tonne.
Both production and sales were up from the previous year, with production up 2% year on year and sales up nearly 6%.
AMNS India's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation more than doubled to $341 million in the March quarter from $162 million in the previous quarter, owing to higher sales volumes, higher steel prices, and lower costs, including energy costs. However, due to lower steel prices this year, the operating profit was lower than the previous year.