Jindal Steel & Power Limited (NSE: JINDALSTEL) Q2 2025 Earnings Call dated Nov. 06, 2024
Corporate Participants:
Vishal Chandak — Head, Investor Relations
Sunil Aggarwal — Chief Financial Officer
Pankaj Malhan — CEO of Steel Business, Angul
Analysts:
Jashandeep Chadha — Analyst
Amit Dixit — Analyst
Amit Murarka — Analyst
Indrajit Agarwal — Analyst
Parthiv Jhonsa — Analyst
Kirtan Mehta — Analyst
Pallav Agarwal — Analyst
Ritesh Shah — Analyst
Sumangal Nevatia — Analyst
Satyadeep Jain — Analyst
Raashi Chopra — Analyst
Vikash Singh — Analyst
Ashish Kejriwal — Analyst
Rahul Gupta — Analyst
Pratim Roy — Analyst
Pavas Pethia — Analyst
Pavan — A
Prateek Singh — Analyst
Presentation:
Operator
Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to Jindal Steel and Power Limited, JSPLIN 2Q FY ’25 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note that this conference is being recorded.
I now hand the conference over to Mr. Jashandeep Chadha from Nomura. Thank you, and over to you.
Jashandeep Chadha — Analyst
Thank you, Yashasvi. Good evening, everyone, and thank you for joining the call.
Without much further ado, I’ll hand over to Mr. Vishal Chandak, the Head, IR, for JSPL. Vishal, over to you.
Vishal Chandak — Head, Investor Relations
Thank you very much Jashandeep,. Good evening, everyone. On behalf of Jindal Steel and Power, I welcome you all to the Q2 investors briefing. We have with us Mr. Pankaj Malhan, the CEO for the Angul plant; Mr, Aggarwal, the CFO. Unfortunately, Mr. Sabyasachi Bandyopadhyay, our Whole-Time Director had to go for an urgent work, so he could not join the call.
So I will hand over the call to Sunil sir for his opening remarks, thereafter which we’ll pick up the Q&A. Over to you, sir.
Sunil Aggarwal — Chief Financial Officer
Thanks,. So good evening, everyone. Wish you a very Happy Diwali, and hope you have all enjoyed the festival season. I welcome you all to the Q2 FY ’25 performance briefing of JSP.
India steel production for the quarter was 36.2 million ton, down 1% quarter-on-quarter basis. However, apparent steel consumption grew 4% sequentially. Steel price remained under pressure due to continuing surge in imports and declining exports. Export continued to trend down by 15% on quarter-on-quarter to 1.3 million tons, while imports saw a sharp increase of 44% sequentially to 3.2 million tons. India remained net importer of steel for the second quarter in a row, reflecting ballooning import from both FTA country and China. Net imports for the quarter saw a massive 1.69% — 169% sequentially jump. Despite the strong inflow both FTA countries and China, your company reported a healthy performance, reflecting the agility in operation and diversified product basket, while maintaining a strong balance sheet.
Our production grew by 4% Y-on-Y to 1.97 million tons. However, sales for the quarter witnessed a drop of 8% on a Y-on-Y basis to 1.85 million ton. The decrease is mainly due to the plant shutdown in Raigad facility, while Angul plant witnessed an upstick of 4% in production quarter-on-quarter basis. Net revenue for the quarter stood at INR11,248 crore, down by 18% on quarter-on-quarter, largely due to reduction in sales volume and softening of steel prices.
On the cost front, coking coal price were down by $35 per ton and iron ore price down by INR500 per tons, in-line with our guidance given in our Q1 briefing. Our SMS cost remained flattish on account of seasonal impact on techno economics. Our adjusted EBITDA on a consolidated basis for the quarter was INR2,124 crores and EBITDA per ton stood at INR11,467 per ton, down by 15% on sequential basis. Accordingly, PAT declined by 36% on quarter-on-quarter basis to INR860 crores. We expect a reduction of around $22, $25 per ton in coking coal prices in Q3 FY ’25.
We have taken a price hike of INR1,000 to INR2,000 across product in Q3 so far. Demand post-season — festive season is good and prices are holding up. We expect H2 to be better than H1, driven by strong seasonal demand and lower input cost. Our consolidated net debt is INR12,464 crore at the end of quarter two, which has increased from INR10,462 crores reported in last quarter. Increase is driven by payout related to expansion at our Angul project. Net-debt-to-EBITDA is at 1.21 times, which is still below our red line of 1.5 times and continues to be the best among large steel players in India. Our capex in quarter stood at INR2,642 crore. With this, cumulative capex spent under the current expansion program is around INR20,562 crores.
Regarding the expansion project at Angul, same is progressing well as per the schedule communicated earlier. We are hoping that we will deliver the project in record time.
With this, I will conclude and hand over for Q&A session. Thanks. So now I will hand over to Vishal.
Vishal Chandak — Head, Investor Relations
Okay. Thank you, sir. Yashasvi, can you please open the lines for the Q&A?
Questions and Answers:
Operator
Certainly, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions] We’ll take our first question from the line of Amit Dixit from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.
Amit Dixit
Yeah, hi, good evening, everyone, and thanks for the opportunity, and congratulations for a good performance in a very testing quarter. I have two questions. The first one is related to the DRI second plant, which appears to have been delayed to Q4 FY ’27 from Q3 FY ’26, if I look at your presentation. So just wanted to know the reason for the same? And won’t it impact your — your metal capacity or and finally the steel capacity?
Sunil Aggarwal
So, Pankaj Ji, just if you can respond.
Pankaj Malhan
Yeah, sure. Thank you. Thanks, Amit for this question. We are working on our strategies to make sure we deliver the volumes as early as possible. So our entire focus is right now in terms of adding volumes that we think the first scale would come from [Indecipherable] So that’s one area where we are actively pursuing our project strategies and we are very hopeful of delivering the timelines that we’ve stated. And definitely we are working on the DRI stream, which would be the next in line.
Amit Dixit
No, sir, my question is that since — if the DRI is delayed, your availability of metallics would get delayed. So won’t it impact our crude steel capacity reaching 15.75 million tons annum by end of FY ’26 because it is delayed to Q4 FY ’27, which is a very significant delay from the earlier Q3 FY ’26?
Pankaj Malhan
Q4 FY ’27, this is 3Q — Amit, this is actually 3Q of FY ’26 only. It seems there has been some type over here and the numbers have a little moved haywire over here on the DRI. So DRI is on-track for the third quarter of FY ’26. So there is no delay. I apologize for the goof-up over there, but it’s 3Q FY ’26 only and not 4Q FY ’27.
Amit Dixit
Okay. So essentially the timelines are unchanged, that’s a good read.
Pankaj Malhan
So let me reiterate over here, there is absolutely no change in any timeline and we are on track to deliver what we have promised on the revised timelines. In fact, the blast furnace is scheduled to get commissioned in Q4 itself and we are at the advanced stages of the commissioning.
Amit Dixit
Okay. The second question pertains to the captive coal mine. If you can highlight the quantity of coal that was supplied in this quarter and what is the ramp ramp up commissioning schedule of the — of the mine?
Pankaj Malhan
Okay. Thanks, Amit, again for this question. Our mines ramp up is as per the plan. We mined close to 1.3 million tons in quarter two from our Utkal C mines. And going-forward, we are also in the very, very advanced-stage of opening up our Utkal B1 mines.
Amit Dixit
Okay. So when can we expect all these mines to get open? And is there any pressing permit that remains at this point in time?
Pankaj Malhan
We are very hopeful of starting our Utkal B1 in quarter four of this financial year.
Amit Dixit
Okay. Okay, sir. That’s great. Thank you and all the best.
Operator
Thank you. We’ll take our next question from the line of Amit Murarka from Axis Capital. Please go ahead.
Amit Murarka
Yeah. Thanks for the opportunity. Just following up on the question on the coal mine, I think it was also kind of expected that the EC will be increased for Gare Palma and Utkal C. Any update on that?
Pankaj Malhan
This is work-in progress but the main focus right now is for us is Utkal B1 startup, where we’ve received all the approvals and we are in the process of opening up of this mine now.
Vishal Chandak
So Amit, just to add-on to what Pankaj sir has mentioned, we will not be short on coal, so we will not need to buy any coal from the markets. So even if the EC doesn’t come as per our scheduled timeline, which we believe it will be there, we will not be short on coal. So we will only be having more surplus coal over there.
Amit Murarka
Sure, sir. That’s very reassuring. And also on the Slurry Pipeline, I believe it’s due in Q4 FY ’25, so that’s also on track, right?
Pankaj Malhan
Yeah, Amit, I think this is one of the most exciting projects and with the change of the guard right now in Odisha, there’s a lot of excitement about this project and we’re getting full support in terms of expediting the completion of this project. Good part is we’ve almost completed 80% of the project as of now when we are talking.
Amit Murarka
Sure. So also understand it in terms of the cost reduction or margin expansion projects now, I mean that will be the key project going ahead, right, incrementally speaking?
Pankaj Malhan
Yeah, this is one of those projects.
Amit Murarka
And could you just maybe refresh the understanding once, like how much is the anticipated cost savings from — once the Slurry Pipeline is in place?
Vishal Chandak
So Amit, if you remember in our previous calls also we’ve mentioned that we would not be in a position to give you item wise breakdown on what is the cost saving on Slurry Pipeline, on HSM and ACTP2. But again, as we had mentioned, our entire capex program is based on the fact that we would generate a very high teen of ROCE. So I’m sure you would be able to back calculate the kind of total project savings out of there.
Amit Murarka
Okay. Okay, sure. That’s all. Then I’ll come back in the queue.
Operator
Thank you. We’ll take our next question from the line of Indrajit Agarwal from CLSA. Please go ahead.
Indrajit Agarwal
Hi, thanks for the opportunity. A couple of questions. First bookkeeping question. How are the NSRs this quarter versus last quarter? And how is the spot NSRs versus, say, 2Q average?
Sunil Aggarwal
Yes. So I will just explain. So our steel NSR for the quarter was INR54,603 crores [Phonetic] as against last quarter of INR55,845 crores [Phonetic]
Indrajit Agarwal
And what is the spot?
Vishal Chandak
So we have raised — increased prices in the range of INR1,000 to INR3,000 across the product basket.
Sunil Aggarwal
That we were already in opening remarks, I have already mentioned.
Indrajit Agarwal
That’s clear. And what kind of iron-ore inflation can we see in this quarter — in third quarter broadly as can stand today?
Vishal Chandak
So, Indrajit, let me put it this way. When I look at the iron ore prices vis-a-vis steel prices today, iron ore prices are back to August levels — Feb levels, whereas steel prices are still down by almost INR2,000 from those levels. So if you look at — iron ore prices, they need to go down substantially if you have to pick up, they have to be in tandem with the steel prices. Otherwise, we see a spot spreads compressing compared to simply putting all the iron ore prices there.
Indrajit Agarwal
Sure. Lastly, help us understand the current HS run rate, what is the current run rate?
Operator
Mr. Agarwal, I’m sorry, your voice is muffled. Can you use your handset mode, please?
Indrajit Agarwal
I am actually on handset. Can you just help us understand what is the current HSM run rate at which it is running currently?
Pankaj Malhan
We’re running at almost 40% utilization of HSM.
Indrajit Agarwal
And like can you help us understand the progress rate by end of fourth quarter, can we get to like 80% kind of utilization?
Pankaj Malhan
See, we’re just waiting for the metallics to come. But once they are there, the ramp up would be very. The good part is, we’ve already seeded the market with our products.
Indrajit Agarwal
Sure. That’s all from my side. Thank you. Indrajit, hello, it is very easy for us to ramp up the HSM because now it’s stabilized completely. But since we are staffed for the metallics, we would further — further ramp up would only be possible after our blast furnace gets commissioned. Sure. Thank you.
Vishal Chandak
Thanks.
Operator
Thank you. We’ll take our next question from the line of Parthiv Jhonsa from Anand Rathi. Please go ahead.
Parthiv Jhonsa
Yeah, hi. Thanks for the opportunity. Congratulations on a good set of numbers. My first question is pertaining to debt. Debt has been consistently increasing over the last couple of quarters. So any guidance on the reduction in that side because it is continuously increasing over last few quarters?
Sunil Aggarwal
No, I will just — so actually we are expecting that H2 will be better than H1, and we are expecting higher EBITDA from our operations. So certainly we are looking at our capex plan as well. So we are restricting ourselves that the net debt will not go up too much. So we are targeting as we have stipulated 1.5 times, we will be much below than that.
Parthiv Jhonsa
Any number on the reduction, sir?
Vishal Chandak
Parthiv, just let me add over here. We are right now very close to our peak debt numbers, okay, given the fact that the commissioning-related payouts have started happening while the production has yet to come in. So obviously, the profitability is not there while the cost has got all embedded over here. So the leverage looks higher compared to our own timelines, as well as the gross level and net level debts are also higher. But from here, I think we are only going to see a reduction in both the leverage absolute terms as well as all the ratios.
Sunil Aggarwal
Yes.
Parthiv Jhonsa
All right, all right. And sir, my second question is on coal. Any guidance for the Q3, what kind of numbers can we foresee for coal?
Amit Murarka
Normally, we don’t give any guidance of operating parameters, but we are comfortable in terms of driving home through our own mines.
Parthiv Jhonsa
Okay. If I may, can I just squeeze in one more small question. It’s pertaining to your Australian subsidiary. It’s still consistently facing losses. So any color on that side of the business?
Sunil Aggarwal
So, right now Australian business is taken under care and maintenance. So we are not burning much cash there. So that’s it.
Vishal Chandak
So, Parthiv, if you look at the overall pool, you know, the difference between the standalone and consol is largely driven out of not only the overseas subsidiaries, but also from the JSOL or the Odisha expansion. Okay. As the Odisha expansion continues to ramp up, you will see a wider gap between standalone and consol, okay. So the burnout is not at all at the overseas operations because as we highlighted in the past also, the overseas projects or subsidiaries are all based on driving their own cash flows and expenditure, there is no movement of cash from the parent to the overseas subsidiaries. Yeah, Odisha project is in a ramp up phase. So obviously, we will see some bit of challenge over there, but that’s pretty normal with any project which is on an expansion phase. So I think from next quarter onwards you would see that declining.
Parthiv Jhonsa
Sure, sure. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
Operator
Thank you. We’ll take our next question from the line of Kirtan Mehta from BOB Capital Markets. Please go ahead.
Kirtan Mehta
Thank you. Thank you, sir, for this opportunity. We mentioned that we are comfortable about the coal availability for the year and we don’t need to purchase the external coal. I believe we are operating our existing [Indecipherable] plant at around 50% capacity, would we be able to run that up to 100% with the now domestic coal availability and will that improve the availability of metallics?
Pankaj Malhan
So that’s a very good question. And we are right now working comfortably with 50% utilization of our coal gasification plant. This gas ramp up is expected to happen with our coal loading complex coming online now. So we are looking at the capacity utilization of coal gasification to go up to around 70% by the end of this financial year. And we are comfortable in ramping it up through our own coal itself.
Kirtan Mehta
That will not help us support the ramp-up at the HSM. HSM ramp up will be more linked to the start-up of blast furnace. Is that the right way to think?
Pankaj Malhan
Correct. So, HSM ramp-up would be more linked to the metallics availability. As of now, the level of metallics that we have in the organization, we have ramped it up. It’s not dependent upon coal gasification of the same gas, it will be more on the availability of the metallics, HSM ramp up.
Kirtan Mehta
Right. And second question was on the Slurry Pipeline. I believe your were facing certain ROE related issues, which has resulted into sort of delay in commissioning of the Slurry Pipeline. Could you highlight the sort of the — how much ROE is available at this point of time and are those issues behind us now?
Pankaj Malhan
Yeah, those issues are all behind us as of now, and there’s a good harmony along with the new government, and we are fully confident of delivering this project now.
Kirtan Mehta
In terms of the pipeline status — building status, would you be able to indicate some sort of the physical progress on the Slurry Pipeline as well?
Pankaj Malhan
Now, I just indicated that number, close to 80% of the project has been completed.
Kirtan Mehta
Sure, sir. Thanks for this color.
Operator
Thank you. We’ll take our next question from the line of Pallav Agarwal from Antique Stock Broking. Please go ahead.
Pallav Agarwal
Yeah, good evening, sir. So just I had a question on our remaining capex. So I think our total growth capex was about INR31,000 crores and we’ve already spent close to INR20,500 crores. So normally we do have some performance guarantee-related payouts that are deferred. So is it right to understand that the balance — at least 10%, 15% of the balance amount would probably happen over the next couple of years and not immediately?
Sunil Aggarwal
Yeah, that’s right. So certain retention amount, that will be paid over the next two to three years time after commissioning of the full project.
Pallav Agarwal
And what will be the maintenance capex, sir? This is a part of the growth capex.
Vishal Chandak
So, Pallav, our maintenance capex is close to about INR600 crores on a quarterly basis.
Pallav Agarwal
Okay, so about INR2,500 crores on an annual basis.
Vishal Chandak
Yes, right?
Pallav Agarwal
Also on the question related to metallics. So we had an arrangement with RINL. So is that — could that be a source for metallics or we’re not really getting too much metallics from there right now?
Pankaj Malhan
Oh, that’s again a wonderful question. We started on a good note with RINL before they had their own set of challenges. What we understand from the current condition is their two blast furnaces are down. So they’re running short of metallic themselves. So there are good developments over there on that front, and some infusion of money is expected from Government of India. So we are just waiting for the blast furnaces to be up and running before we start securing some metallics from RINL.
Pallav Agarwal
Sure sir. Lastly, to just get your thoughts on this — on a few reports of safeguard or anti-dumping duties being imposed. So is there actually truth to this or these are more of new speculation that’s happening in the media?
Pankaj Malhan
So, Pallav, anti-comping, we have been through the industry, informing the ministry about the kind of imports that have come in the Indian space, both from FTA as well as non-FTA countries through one — direct and indirect routes. So the ministry has taken cognizance of these imports. And in fact, in one of the conclaves the steel minister himself has mentioned that he would look at this matter and respond appropriately. So we are quite hopeful that anti-dumping duty or increase in the basic customs duty of any sort should be in the pipeline. But when it will come, how will it come, it’s absolutely impossible to make an — gauge any predictions for that.
Pallav Agarwal
Sure. Yeah, thank you so much.
Operator
Thank you. We’ll take our next question from the line of Ritesh Shah from Investec. Please go ahead.
Ritesh Shah
Yeah. Hi, sir. Thanks for the opportunity. Sir, just correct me if I’m wrong. You indicated that the HSM utilization is at 40% right now. We expect it to go to 80%, hopefully by end of the year. You also indicated currently DRI is at 50% utilization. Are those variables correct, sir, to what I heard?
Pankaj Malhan
Sorry, I’ll just correct the variables. HSM is currently at a utilization rate of close to 40%. As and when the metallics from the new expansion comes in, it would be further ramped up, right?
Second, you spoke about DRI. We never touched upon DRI ramp up. It was coal gasification plant ramp up, which is at 50% utilization because this is the amount of gas which is needed right now to keep running our DRI at full capacity. So we — as and when there are more consumers within the plant, that coal gasification ramp up will happen on our own coal. I hope that [Speech Overlap]
Ritesh Shah
And the utilization — yeah, yeah. So thanks for that. Sir. So you’re indicating CGP is at 50% utilization, the coal gasifier?
Pankaj Malhan
Yeah, that’s what I’ve said,0 because this is the amount of requirement of the gas in the plant as of now.
Ritesh Shah
Perfect. And sir, can you just… Mr. Shah, I request you to join back the queue please as we have several participants waiting for their turn. Kindly join back the queue. Sure. Thank you.
Operator
Thank you. We’ll take our next question from the line of Sumangal Nevatia from Kotak Securities. Please go ahead.
Sumangal Nevatia
Yeah, thanks for the chance. My first question is on the two captive coal blocks. Utkal B1, we are expecting 4Q commercialization. Is it possible to share? Have we received all the approvals, the mining leases signed, and if it’s on the execution on-the-ground, which is happening now? And also if you could guide us with respect to Utkal B2 mine?
Pankaj Malhan
For Utkal B1, like I mentioned, we have secured all the approval and the work on the ground has already started. And we are very confident of starting this mines in quarter four of FY ’25. And Utkal B2, we are on the ground in terms of securing the approvals. We are also hopeful it will follow its own natural cost and we should start this mines in the next financial year.
Sumangal Nevatia
Okay. My second question is on the…
Vishal Chandak
Sumangal, Just to clarify, when Pankaj sir mentioned, on the ground doesn’t mean we are in the mine. It means the activities are at the full speed.
Sumangal Nevatia
Sorry, I missed the last word, Vishal. What do you say? Activities are at?
Vishal Chandak
The activities are going at the full speed and we are very close to getting — opening the mines. But when he said on the ground, doesn’t mean that we have opened the mine or we are in the mine.
Sumangal Nevatia
Got it, got it. I have one clarification on the subsidiary EBITDA, which is around INR180 odd crore. Is it possible to share what is coming from international business as a whole, all the few geographies and Odisha subsidiary?
Sunil Aggarwal
One to one, and I will request IR team. He will get back to you for the further details.
Sumangal Nevatia
Okay. And just one last clarification. On the — in the first-half, is it possible to share what is a mix for thermal coal? How much is captive, how much is linkage and how much is e-auction?
Vishal Chandak
E-auction, we have completely stopped buying, okay? And majority of the coal is now from our own mines. We have a very limited amount of FSA coal which we have to take up. That is on account of our tapering linkage. Other than that, everything is in-house.
Sumangal Nevatia
Got it. Thanks. Thanks and all the best.
Vishal Chandak
What’s the numbers, we can discuss it offline.
Sumangal Nevatia
Sure, Vishal. Thank you.
Operator
Thank you. We’ll take our next question from the line of Satyadeep Jain from Ambit Capital. Please go ahead.
Satyadeep Jain
Hi, thank you. The first question I wanted to ask on the power strategy. Recently you signed an agreement with Jindal Renewable for a supply of 3 gigawatt of renewables.
Operator
Sorry, sir, can you use your handset mode, your audio was not very clear.
Satyadeep Jain
Can you hear me now?
Operator
Yeah. Are you on your handset because your voice was muffled.
Satyadeep Jain
No, I’m not on my handset.
Operator
Can you use your handset please?
Satyadeep Jain
Is it better now?
Operator
Yes, please go ahead.
Satyadeep Jain
Just wanted to ask on the power strategy. The Group signed an agreement with Jindal Renewable for 3 gigawatt of RE. You also have 1,600 megawatt of CPP yourself, another 1,000 megawatt coming up. So how are you looking at the sourcing of power in all the capacities you have. That’s the first question.
Vishal Chandak
So, Satyadeep, as the cloud for the green steel continues, we have signed an MOU with the group company, as you mentioned, to set up for green power in the long-term, part of which will come very soon and part would be thereafter. Now how do we look at the rest of the power strategy? I think one of the key points here is that thermal power is here to stay, but steel would be produced more-and-more from the green power that would be procuring. So we will have a mix of both renewable as well as non-renewable power. In the intervening period when we have surplus, we would look at opportunities to sell.
Satyadeep Jain
Okay. Thanks for that. Secondly, just on the capital allocation, as you look beyond Angul 2, what — do we assume that in Angul 2 commissions you would not look at further expansion or are you — how do we look at growth beyond Angul 2 organic, inorganic? When do we see that where — some thoughts on long and flat? Is there any — is it too early to think about that?
Vishal Chandak
So Satyadeep, we will definitely not be stopping at Angul 2, okay? We have one of the best balance sheets in the industry. Angul 2 is going to throw a lot of cash once it stabilizes. This would be reutilized and reinvested in further expansion. But what would be the nature of expansion and the product profile, that’s something we have not yet finalized. We will get back to you at an appropriate time when we feel we are ready for the next phase of expansion. But at this point in time, it would suffice that we will not stop here, the cash flows would be strong enough to fuel the next level of growth. So we’ll continue to grow. And Angul, as we had mentioned in the past also, has a capacity to house about 27 million tons. So our vision is to make Angul the largest single site steel plant in the world, and we will work towards that.
Satyadeep Jain
Okay. Thank you so much and wish you the best.
Operator
Thank you. We’ll take our next question from the line of Raashi Chopra from Citigroup. Please go ahead.
Raashi Chopra
Thank you. Just sir, clarifying on some bookkeeping questions. You had mentioned the realization this quarter was INR54,600 [Phonetic] and INR55,800 [Phonetic] was in the last year or the last quarter?
Sunil Aggarwal
Yes, yes. This is — I have mentioned this in flat products.
Vishal Chandak
So this is basically the benchmark numbers, okay, but obviously our numbers would be different from these numbers. So these were basically the benchmark, HR realization numbers.
Raashi Chopra
For 2Q and 1Q?
Sunil Aggarwal
Right.
Raashi Chopra
So for yourselves, what has been the change in the realization sequentially?
Vishal Chandak
Can you please repeat the question?
Raashi Chopra
For yourselves, what has been the change in realization sequentially? Because if I just divide by the revenue by volumes, it appears that the realization has moved up sequentially.
Vishal Chandak
You are looking at standalone numbers, right?
Raashi Chopra
Standalone, yes.
Vishal Chandak
So on a standalone numbers, if you look at the volume, you would have divided the consolidated volumes, yes.
Sunil Aggarwal
So if you divide by standalone, then standalone is coming at around INR61,695, [Phonetic] down by 3% from the last quarter.
Raashi Chopra
Okay. And the cost, sorry, you were saying.
Sunil Aggarwal
So you have to divide it by last standalone sales, volume is 2.03 million ton in the Q1 and for in the Q2, the volume is 1.87 million ton.
Vishal Chandak
So I think Raashi, if you divide those numbers, you will — you will get the number. So there is a decline in the standalone ASP as well.
Raashi Chopra
Okay. So the decline is 3% on a sequential basis standalone.
Sunil Aggarwal
Yes. Yes, yes, correct Okay. And on the cost side, it’s flattish on a sequential basis? Yes.
Raashi Chopra
Okay. So the, and — okay. So the decline in the coking coal as well as the iron ore has been offset by other expenses and lower volumes?
Sunil Aggarwal
Yes.
Raashi Chopra
Right. And just on this cost side, coking coal should be down by about $20, $25 more in the third quarter?
Sunil Aggarwal
That’s right.
Raashi Chopra
And iron ore?
Sunil Aggarwal
Iron ore we are — right now they slightly increase by an MDC and OMC in the tune of INR500 to INR1,000 per ton. So that is there.
Vishal Chandak
So Raashi as I mentioned in one of the answers, while steel prices have been continuously coming off, iron ore prices have recently seen a sharp spike. So as a result of which the spot spreads are actually trending down compared to the Q3 — Q2 numbers. So either the steel prices have to move up to align — realign the spreads or iron ore prices should come down because this is an artificially inflated iron ore price at this point in time.
Raashi Chopra
Understood. And just one last question.
Operator
Raashi, I request you to join back the queue, please.
Raashi Chopra
Okay, no problem. I’ll join the queue.
Operator
Thank you. We’ll take our next question from the line of Vikash Singh from PhillipCapital. Please go ahead.
Vikash Singh
Good evening, sir, and thank you for the opportunity. Sir, if I just look at the standalone minus the consol EBITDA, there is a INR210 crore. Just wanted to understand which subsidiary is contributing that much of money because this number is pretty fluctuating on a six quarter every quarter?
Sunil Aggarwal
So, basically, this is JSOL. This 100% subsidiary that we have commissioned, the EBITDA is coming from that start of the operation.
Vikash Singh
And how should we look at this number going forward?
Sunil Aggarwal
So it will improve once this operation of our JSOL streamlines and as we have said that the utilization will go up. So certainly the volume will go up and the EBITDA will come up from that JSOL project.
Vishal Chandak
See, Vikash, as soon as we commission our blast furnace, that’s where you’ll see a sharp spurt in the profitability of the Angul expansion.
Vikash Singh
Understood. My second question pertains to SSM. We basically — you said that it has reached 40% of utilization level and further ramp up is not possible unless the new blast furnace comes in. So in terms of the benefit from the low-grade semis to the finished steel, the benefit we have received so far? And if you could quantify: A, that once the blast furnace come, how much more benefit could be arrived from the SSM itself?
Sunil Aggarwal
So, we are not selling. So we are not selling any semi right now. So whatever the steel that we have, we are finishing that in the HSM and we are selling the value-added products. So we are not selling any semis type.
Vishal Chandak
And the operating leverage benefit once that…
Vikash Singh
Yeah, sorry, please continue.
Vishal Chandak
Vikash, the benefit of conversion of semis to HSM has already been realized, okay. And now incremental benefit of volume will come through once the blast furnace gets commissioned. So at this juncture we hardly have any semis to sell in the market.
Vikash Singh
Understood. Understood. That’s all from my side. Thank you.
Operator
Thank you. We’ll take our next question from the line of Ashish Kejriwal from Nuvama Wealth Management. Please go ahead.
Ashish Kejriwal
Yeah, hi. Thanks for the opportunity. Good evening, everyone. Sir, three quick questions. One, in coal mines, last quarter we said that we are on the verge of expanding the existing EC limit of Utkal CN Gare Palma, where we are on that?
And second question is, you know, it — do you — have you said that we are running at a peak capacity utilization for our DRI plant at Angul? If that’s the case, what is the overall capacity utilization at Angul in Q2?
And third is in terms of sales volume, you know, last quarter also we mentioned that we will — we will be selling more than 2 million ton each quarter and this quarter though volumes have been down on production because of the shutdown, but sales volume was lower than the production volume also. So are we taking — are we getting any hit because of the logistics or some slowdown in demand or what could be the thing which can explain that? Thank you.
Sunil Aggarwal
So, Pankaj JI just.
Pankaj Malhan
So, there are number of questions, if I was to take one after another. DRI capacity utilization is almost at the full level in the plant as of now.
Operator
Sorry, to interrupt sir. We couldn’t hear your last sentence. Can you please repeat?
Pankaj Malhan
Okay. DRI utilization continues to be at the full level in the company. So there were some shutdowns which are planned shutdowns. That’s the only differentiation that we’ll have in capacity utilization.
Second, you mentioned about the EC increases about Utkal C and Gare Palma. That’s the work in progress. We are working very closely in terms of securing the approvals and we are very hopeful very soon we should get those approvals also in place.
The third question maybe I missed, if you can repeat your third question?
Ashish Kejriwal
My question was at what capacity utilization we are working with in Angul overall, 6 million tons? And sales volume in second quarter, why it is lower than the production volume also?
Pankaj Malhan
Overall, Angul capacity sweating in quarter two being close to 85%.
Ashish Kejriwal
So is this the maximum which we can do or we can elevate it without any further addition in our plant?
Pankaj Malhan
We have seen 4% increase in terms of Angul utilization per sequential basis, and we are looking into further improving capacity utilization.
Ashish Kejriwal
Okay. About the sales volume?
Pankaj Malhan
And the sales volume what you mentioned, yes, we are mindful of those volumes. Of course, there were some plant shutdowns in Raigad, which led to some drop in terms of the production as well as the finished volume. While we talk about the steel capacity, which is typically the crude steel, the finished goods would be slightly lower than that. So that’s what is the numbers getting reflected in the numbers.
Ashish Kejriwal
We don’t have much inventory? Or inventory level is not…
Pankaj Malhan
Is more or less stable levels, very marginal change in terms of sequential basis in terms of inventories.
Ashish Kejriwal
Okay. So, okay. So is it possible for us to give a sales volume guidance for FY ’25?
Pankaj Malhan
I’m sorry, I don’t think we are in a place where we normally give guidances for the forward. But the company remains committed to increase the capacity utilizations and deliver quality products to the customers.
Ashish Kejriwal
Okay. Thank you and all the best.
Operator
Thank you. We’ll take our next question from the line of Rahul Gupta from Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.
Rahul Gupta
Hi, thank you for taking my question. I have just one question. So just trying to understand what has driven iron ore price hikes to the level where you say they are unsustainable? Maybe alternatively, what should drive them down assuming global iron ore prices stay where they are? Just trying to understand if there is any structural issue with iron ore prices over here? Thank you.
Vishal Chandak
So Rahul, if you look at the iron ore scenario today, the way we perceive it, iron ore is getting more and more classified as an oligopoly given that between NMDC and OMC there is a massive supply pool. However, steel continues to remain fairly diversified among several players. So there is a demand-supply mismatch, which is apparently there, okay.
Secondly, the recent push by China, the stimulus given by China has led to an increase in global steel prices as well as iron ore prices. However, the steel prices have corrected post that, but iron ore has yet to be corrected. So we believe as steel prices have corrected marginally, iron ore prices should also fall in line.
Rahul Gupta
Got it. Thank you. Just one bookkeeping question. What was the share of exports during the quarter?
Sunil Aggarwal
It was 9%.
Rahul Gupta
And this was 7% last quarter, right?
Sunil Aggarwal
Yes.
Rahul Gupta
Thank you so much.
Operator
Thank you. We’ll take our next question from the line of Ritesh Shah from Investec. Please go ahead. Mr. Shah, kindly unmute your connection. There is no response from this connection. [Operator Instructions]
We have a follow-up question from the line of Parthiv Jhonsa from Anand Rathi. Please go ahead.
Parthiv Jhonsa
Yeah. Just a very quick question. What can be the tentative of cooking coal cost saving is? Did I hear correct, it is about $20 to $25 in Q3?
Sunil Aggarwal
That’s right that we have…
Parthiv Jhonsa
Okay, kay. And is it possible to give any guidance, sir for FY ’25 volumes by any chance?
Sunil Aggarwal
No, right now we will not be in position to give our forward-looking statement.
Parthiv Jhonsa
Sure, sure, sure. Thank you. Thank you so much.
Operator
Thank you. We’ll take our next question from the line of Ritesh Shah from Investec. Please go ahead.
Ritesh Shah
Hi, thanks for the opportunity. Quick ones. Sir, would it be possible for you to quantify how much was the external metallics purchase in first-half? And is it a strategic decision not to purchase incremental metallics and wait for the furnace to come upstream?
Pankaj Malhan
[Indecipherable] question. We keep adjusting our strategies every quarter basis the demand of our products and in the industry. So that’s how we devise our strategies on quarterly basis. And going forward if there are opportunities existing, we would be open to this also provided it makes commercial sense.
Ritesh Shah
Sure. And just quick two questions. Any update on railway logistics as we look to ramp up the capacities? How are we looking at outbound logistics? And specifically, if there is any update on Paradip Port? That’s the first question.
And second, any update on ACCP 1 and 2, and we had plans to dismantle the older 1350 megawatt, where are we on that? Thank you so much.
Pankaj Malhan
On railway logistics projects, the project, you know, while we are trying to drive in terms of doubling the rail line to the Angul station, that’s fully on track, and by the end of this financial year we are hopeful of completing that connectivity. We are also working internally in terms of connecting the various new units and facilities to the holding yard. Holding yard expansion is about to get completed now. So we see that project going as per the schedules that we’ve guided.
Second, in terms of — your question in terms of where are we in terms of ACPP 1 and ACPP 2. ACPP 2 right now technically is already. We are waiting for the approvals to come up. We’re very hopeful of starting ACPP 2 sometime in quarter four start itself. And in terms of ACPP1, which we just spoke about, once we stabilize ACPP 2 Unit 1, then we will start looking into the revamping of our ACPP 1 turbines also.
Vishal Chandak
So, Ritesh, just to add to it, there are absolutely no plans to dismantle any of the existing facilities just because a new facility has come up. We will have surplus power and as I mentioned earlier, we will be selling surplus power in the market.
Ritesh Shah
Sure. Thank you so much.
Operator
Thank you. We’ll take our next question from the line of Pratim Roy from B&K Securities. Please go ahead.
Pratim Roy
Yeah, sir. Thank you for the opportunity. Just wanted to clarify that you have mentioned in the earlier comment that this quarter we are expecting INR1,000 to INR2,000 price hike. So if you quantify the number, how much extra delta in terms of NSR we can expect over — in 3Q over 2Q, if you can give some number on that?
Sunil Aggarwal
I could not get your question right now. If you can repeat that?
Pratim Roy
So my question is how much NSR improvement we can expect company level for 3Q over 2Q?
Sunil Aggarwal
That I hope…
Pankaj Malhan
Sunil, can I?
Sunil Aggarwal
Yeah.
Pankaj Malhan
Number-one, this is a forward looking question, and company keep devising its strategy on a quarter-to-quarter basis in terms of the product portfolio itself. We keep tweaking the product portfolio to make sure that we are able to maximize our blended NSRs given the current scenarios that we are into. We also keep looking into the value addition that we bring in onto the table with respect to each and every product category also. So that’s what we keep tweaking to maximize our blended NSRs.
Sunil Aggarwal
So as I have already mentioned, so our NSR will go up by INR1,000 to INR2,000 that I have already spoken in opening remarks till now. That is till now, and we are seeing further rise in coming due to — after Diwali is over, so we are seeing that the rebound in demand in steel prices. So we are expecting further go up — prices will go up from here.
Pratim Roy
Okay, sir. Thank you for the detailed answer, sir. Thank you, and best wishes for the quarter.
Operator
Thank you. Next question is from the line of Pavas from Birla Mutual Fund. Please go ahead.
Pavas Pethia
Hi, sir. Just wanted to understand, I know it’s very difficult to guide for FY ’25 numbers from a broader perspective, is FY ’27 will be a kind of full ramp up or FY ’28 will be a full ramp up?
Pankaj Malhan
So, we are looking at FY ’27 to be the full ramp up.
Pavas Pethia
Okay, sure. And secondly, we are supposed to kind of balance our finished versus crude steel. There is still scope of 1.5 million to 2 million ton of kind of finished steel capacity to come up. Have we finalized on that?
Vishal Chandak
So Pavas, you have rightly mentioned there is — seemingly there is a gap. And as we have mentioned, there is a platement which is yet to come up over there. So part of that gap would be bridged over there. And we will look at adding a few other finishing lines as and when we feel it’s appropriate to fill in the gap. The idea is to maximize contribution as well as EBITDA. So we will make sure the semis are brought down to the minimum going forward as well.
Pavas Pethia
So this full ramp up, what does this translates to in terms of when you see kind of a production?
Vishal Chandak
That would be looking for a guidance, Pavas. FY ’27 as a full year or full ramp up.
Pavas Pethia
Okay.
Operator
Pavas, are you through with your question?
Pavas Pethia
Yes. Thanks.
Operator
Thank you. We’ll take our next question from the line of Pavan from NMV Securities. Please go ahead.
Pavan
Hello. Am I audible?
Operator
Yes. Go ahead.
Pavan
Thanks for the opportunity. My short question was that what was the share of value-added products on the sales volume of [Indecipherable]
Pankaj Malhan
It’s almost 50%.
Pavan
Okay. Thank you, sir.
Operator
Thank you. We’ll take our next question from the line of Prateek Singh from DAM Capital. Please go ahead.
Prateek Singh
Hi, thanks for the opportunity. Just wanted to clarify, when Sir said that there is a price hike of INR1,000 to INR100, that is post the quarter end? Or are we calling for a higher — this much higher ASP versus the 2Q average?
Sunil Aggarwal
So we are saying the Q2 average versus Q3. So we are mentioning about the average price from the Q2 to till now, increase in October month.
Prateek Singh
Understood, sir. So if you don’t take any further price hikes, but 3Q would largely be INR1400 to INR2,000 per ton higher than 2Q? That would be the correct understanding.
Sunil Aggarwal
Yes.
Prateek Singh
Okay. Thanks. That’s it from my side.
Operator
Thank you. Thank you. As there are no further questions, I would now like to hand the conference over to management team for closing comments. Over to you.
Sunil Aggarwal
So I would request Pankaj sir to give a closing remark on this.
Pankaj Malhan
This quarter your company has delivered strong numbers despite some headwinds. I think we are very confident as a management team of delivering another wonderful quarter in quarter three, and that’s what we look-forward to this. And we remain thankful to your questions and queries, and we’ll be in touch offline if needed be. Vishal can take your questions. Thank you.
Operator
[Operator Closing Remarks]