Tata Steel plans to up India revenue share to 91% from current 53%

Company looking at simplification of south-east Asia business, not divestment

At one end where Tata Steel, the country's oldest steel producer, is aiming to increase India revenue share to 91 per cent of the total from 53 per cent in FY18, the company is also looking at simplification of subscale and non-core assets such as South East Asia operations.
 

Recently, media reports stated that the company is looking to divest it's south-east Asia operations as it has been making losses time and again.
 

"We are certainly looking at simplification of NatSteel operations but the divestment bit which we have been reading about is a bit exaggerated. We are just looking to simplify the business," TV Narendran global CEO and managing director, told reporters on the sidelines of Tata Steel Annual General Meeting held here today. The company held it's 111th annual general meeting.

Tata Steel's south-east Asia operations are about 1 million tonne capacity. With regard to increasing focus on India market, the management said that the jump to 91 per cent revenue has been chalked out taking the expansion of Kalinganagar to 8 million tonnes and acquisition of Bhushan Steel into consideration. 

Bhushan Steel has a capacity of 5.1 million tonne but currently, production is about 3.6 million tonne. "The revenue expansion focus on India doesn't include Bhushan Power which is still in NCLT," informed Koushik Chatterjee, Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer.

Via it's organic and inorganic growth route, Tata Steel plans to become a 22-23 million tonne capacity company soon. Currently, the company's capacity stands at about 12 million tonnes.

Of this, majority of its market share is in flat Steel products and just about 3 million tonnes in long steel. The company also working out a strategy to increase it's long product share, informed chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran.
 

"We know we are short on long product production and given the thrust on development of infrastructure segment we are strategising that at present," he informed the shareholders at the AGM.