Tata Steel shares slid 4-5% on 18 May even after the steelmaker posted its strongest March-quarter earnings in three years, with the stock opening at ₹211 and touching an intraday low of ₹207.50 on the NSE, according to livemint.com.
The fall came despite consolidated net profit jumping 62% year-on-year to ₹7,380 crore and revenue rising 11% to ₹62,870 crore, thehindubusinessline.com reported. Management attributed the beat to higher domestic volumes and better realisations, but investors focused on margin guidance that hinted at softer prices in the June quarter. Brokerages split down the middle: CLSA and Jefferies retained ‘buy’ with targets of ₹240-250, while Nomura cut to ‘neutral’ citing near-term headwinds from falling global steel prices and rising coking-coal costs.
The reaction underscores the chasm between robust India demand and weak export markets. Tata Steel trades at 5.8x FY27 EV/Ebitda, a discount to JSW Steel’s 7.1x despite similar earnings growth, according to thehindubusinessline.com. The stock has now erased its 9% post-results rally from last week, and is down 12% year-to-date, underperforming the Nifty Metal index’s 6% decline.
Investors will watch two near-term triggers: the company’s 30 May investor call where management will spell out volume guidance for FY27, and the monsoon-led infra push that typically lifts domestic steel consumption from July. Any upward revision to the ₹20,000-crore capex plan for the Kalinganagar expansion or signs of China easing export rebates could swing sentiment quickly, analysts told livemint.com.