Private steel maker Essar Steel is planning to refinance its entire domestic debt of around Rs20,000 crore into dollar terms by September with a view to reduce interest costs, which in turn will help it to improve the margins, a top company official said.
“The focus today is to reduce our interest costs for which we are actively looking at dollarising our debt... latest by August-September, we would like to dollarise all our debt,” Essar Steel Managing Director and Chief Executive Dilip Oomen told reporters on sidelines of India Steel-2013 Summit organised by Ficci here.
He also said this would have significant impact on its cost of funds.
“That is going to have a tremendous impact (on our profitability). Present interest cost of 12.25-13 per cent will come down to 6-7 per cent,” Oomen said, adding this will have positive impact on its margins.
The company, which had around Rs 22,000 crore in rupee debt, had received approval from the Reserve Bank to raise $ 430 million (around Rs2,400 crore) last fiscal.
The company, which had reported losses in FY12, also said the profitability is improving.
“We have produced 4.3 million tonne steel (out of the 10-mt capacity) at our Hazira unit, which is the critical mass to take production up further. Already, our profitability is showing big improvement. We have put up a 400-kv transmission line, wherein we will be able to draw independent power from the grid. This itself will give us Rs50 crore profit (by way of savings),” Oomen said.
On completion of the 12-mt pellet plant at Paradip in Odisha, he said its likely to be over by end of the year. The first phase of the plant with 6 mt pellet capacity is already up and running. He also expressed the hope of commissioning of the second phase will improve the bottom line.
“This will boost profitability as the impact of this on finished product is Rs2,000 per tonne,” Oomen said.
On the Hazira capacity, he said the plant will produce 30-40 per cent more this fiscal over the 4.3-mt it produced last fiscal, he said.