Less than 50% capex planned for FY23 utilised, says Tata Steel CEO TV Narendran

Tata Steel has spent less than half of the capex planned for ongoing 2022-23 fiscal year, its CEO TV Narendran said.

The company had planned Rs 12,000 crore of capex for the year, of which about Rs 8,500 crore was for India and the balance for Europe.

"We have spent a little less of the 50 per cent (of the planned capex) till now," Narendran told PTI in reply to a question related to capital expenditure plan for FY23.

For September quarter, Tata Steel reported 90 per cent drop in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,297 crore as against Rs 12,547.70 crore in the year-ago period.

In India, Tata Steel acquired Odisha-based steel maker Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd (NINL) for Rs 12,000 crore in a bidding process in July.

In the UK, the company is seeking 1.5 billion pounds from the UK government to execute its decarbonisation plans. Tata Steel owns the UK's largest steelworks at Port Talbot in South Wales and employs around 8,000 people across all its operations in the country.

Narendran has also said Tata Steel's future course of action with respect to its UK business will be based on the British government's response to the company's proposal seeking financial support to sustain the business.

To a query on the consolidation process at Tata Steel, the CEO said it will continue.

In September, the board of Tata Steel approved the amalgamation of its seven subsidiaries -- Tata Steel Long Products, Tata Metaliks, The Tinplate Company of India, TRF Limited, Indian Steel & Wire Products, Tata Steel Mining and S&T Mining -- into itself.
"The company will continue with the process," he said.