Jindal Stainless Q4FY26 net profit jumps 41%, flags margin squeeze

Strong Q4 and FY26 performance boosts Jindal Stainless, but rising fuel costs linked to the West Asia crisis may compress margins and moderate growth outlook in FY27

Jindal Stainless reported a sharp rise in consolidated profit for both the March quarter and full-year FY26, but cautioned that margins could come under pressure in FY27 due to a surge in fuel costs linked to the West Asia crisis.

 

Net profit for the largest stainless steel company by revenue rose 41.4 per cent year-on-year to ₹834 crore in the fourth quarter (January–March) of the current fiscal. Revenue climbed 11.2 per cent to ₹11,337 crore, while quarterly EBITDA surged 37.1 per cent to ₹1,455 crore, reflecting strong operating leverage.

 

For FY26, net profit rose 27.4 per cent year-on-year to ₹3,185 crore, while revenue increased 9.3 per cent to ₹42,955 crore. EBITDA grew at a faster pace of 19.2 per cent to ₹5,560 crore, indicating margin expansion.

 

 

However, during a media interaction following the company’s result announcement, Managing Director Abhyuday Jindal said the company expects margin compression in FY27 as the ongoing West Asia crisis triggers an unprecedented spike in fuel costs, disrupts operations, and limits its ability to pass on rising input prices.

 

The company has guided EBITDA at ₹18,000–20,000 per tonne for the first six months in FY27, down from ₹21,700 per tonne realised in FY26. Jindal said LPG and propane prices rose more than threefold, with procurement costs touching ₹1.9 lakh per tonne as the company had to resort to buying fuels from private players after gas supplies were diverted towards public consumption.

 

“This kind of increase cannot be fully passed on,” he said, adding that while raw material cost increases are typically transmitted, fuel cost spikes of this magnitude cannot be fully passed on, especially as global competitors are not facing similar cost escalations.

 

The impact of the crisis was also visible in operations, with disruptions in March leading to lower-than-expected volume growth for FY26 at around 8.1 per cent, compared with an earlier estimate of 9–9.5 per cent. The company has now moderated its FY27 volume growth guidance to 7–9 per cent, with expected sales volumes of about 2.75–2.8 million tonnes, and will provide visibility only for the first half of the fiscal year.

 

Despite these headwinds, the company attributed its FY26 performance to resilient domestic demand across segments such as pipes and tubes, metros, elevators, and consumer durables, along with increased adoption of stainless steel in infrastructure, electric vehicles, defence, and real estate.

 

The company flagged continued pressure from cheap imports, particularly from China and Vietnam, often routed through ASEAN countries. Jindal also raised concerns over the suspension of quality control orders (QCOs) till September, which could lead to an influx of substandard imports. He added that any anti-dumping or safeguard duty action is likely to take two to three quarters, prolonging pressure on domestic manufacturers already operating at about 60 per cent capacity utilisation.

 

Jindal Stainless’s balance sheet strengthened further during the year, with consolidated net debt-to-equity improving to 0.15x from 0.24x a year ago. The board recommended a final dividend of ₹3 per share, taking the total FY26 payout to ₹4 per share.

 

To mitigate energy risks, the company is exploring alternatives such as piped natural gas and coal gasification, though these measures are expected to take time to offset near-term cost pressures.