Here are eight key takeaways from his conversation:
No direct hit from India exports:Tata Steel does not export steel from its Indian operations to the US, which shields it from the immediate effects of the new tariff.
“Some of our customers may be exporting to the US, but it’s not such a big component of our volumes,” he said.
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Europe exports see limited impact:
Around 10% of Tata Steel Europe’s production is exported to the US—about 7 lakh tonne from the Netherlands and just over 1 lakh tonne from the UK.
These are high-end, profitable products, and the company is taking steps to reduce exposure, though alternate markets are harder to find.
Cost partially passed on to customers
Some of the additional tariff burden is being absorbed by customers. “Unfortunately for US customers, they don’t have domestic options to source the steel, so there is a part of that cost going to them,” Narendran said.
Watchful of steel-specific clarity from Europe
Tata Steel is awaiting clarity on US-UK steel trade terms, especially given existing melt-and-pour rules. Despite recent agreements, tariffs on some categories remain steep.
“From Europe, while recently there’s been an agreement, but on steel, our current understanding, it still stays at 50% which is very significant. So that’s a matter of concern,” he added.
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Stable cost outlook with lower coking coal:
Tata Steel realised a benefit of $10 per tonne from lower coking coal prices in the April–June quarter and expects a similar gain in the July–September quarter.
Q2 prices to soften in India, stay flat in Europe:
Steel prices in India are expected to be ₹2,000 per tonne lower in the July-September quarter versus the previous one. In Europe, prices are likely to remain flat to marginally higher by €5–10 per tonne.
In the April-June quarter, Tata Steel’s India operations reported an EBITDA per tonne of ₹15,760, up ₹2,510 from the previous quarter.
In the UK, EBITDA loss narrowed to £41 million from £80 million in the previous quarter, with deliveries at 0.60 million tonne. In the Netherlands, EBITDA turned positive at €64 million compared to €14 million in the prior quarter, with deliveries at 1.50 million tonne.
Cost savings plan on track:
Tata Steel expects to achieve its ₹11,500 crore cost transformation target for 2025-26. These are supported by “very granular level projects” across geographies, Narendran said.
Debt reduction in focus:
Net debt, currently around ₹84,000 crore, is expected to fall below the ₹82,000 crore mark by March 2026. The company is targeting ₹15,000–₹16,000 crore in capital expenditure this year and is focusing on improving working capital efficiency, particularly in the UK and India.
