In a significant leadership change, Jindal Steel Ltd (JSL) on Tuesday announced the appointment of Gautam Malhotra as its Chief Executive Officer, even as the company reported a below-expectations performance for the second quarter of the fiscal year.
Malhotra, who joined Jindal Steel in May 2024, has since worked across its mining, production, human resources, logistics, technology and sales verticals.
The appointment signals a strategic push by the company’s board to accelerate operational and commercial transformation.
For the quarter ended September 30, JSL posted a consolidated net profit of ₹635.08 crore, down about 26.2 percent year-on-year from ₹860.47 crore in the same period last year.
Revenue from operations rose modestly by 4.21 percent to ₹11,685.88 crore, up from ₹11,213.31 crore a year earlier.
Despite the increase in revenue, JSL’s margin contraction and lower profit raise fresh concerns about its near-term growth trajectory.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell around 12 percent year-on-year to ₹1,875 crore, while the EBITDA margin slipped to 17.8 percent from 24.4 percent a year earlier.
Production volumes also dipped. JSL reported total production of 2.00 million tonnes (MT) in the quarter, down 5 percent sequentially, while sales were 1.87 MT, a decrease of 2 percent from the previous quarter.
Export share rose to 10 percent from 7 percent in the prior quarter, but the overall decline in performance was noted by analysts.
In a positive move on the investment front, the company’s net debt stood at ₹14,156 crore at the end of the quarter, slightly lower than ₹14,400 crore at the end of June 2025, offering some relief to investors.
Capital expenditure for the quarter was reported at ₹2,699 crore, largely driven by expansion work at the Angul plant in Odisha.
Jindal Steel is also advancing its Angul facility, where a new blast furnace has more than doubled hot-metal capacity to 8.85 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) from 4.25 mtpa, and with the addition of a basic oxygen furnace it has raised crude steel capacity to 9 mtpa at the site.
The company remains on track to reach a total capacity of 15.6 mtpa by the end of this financial year.
The appointment of Malhotra comes after a five-year period during which JSL did not have a designated CEO, underscoring the board’s decision to bring in stronger executive leadership to navigate challenges in a competitive steel industry.
Analysts highlight that while Malhotra brings extensive experience across operational and commercial domains, he does not have a traditional steel-industry background, prompting closer scrutiny of his execution capabilities.
For JSL, the dual message to markets is clear: the company is recognising near-term headwinds while simultaneously laying the groundwork for a strategic reset.
Scaling up production, improving margin performance and leveraging new leadership under Malhotra will be key to regaining investor confidence.
With commodity cycles remaining volatile and competition intensifying, the steelmaker’s next set of results will be closely watched for signs of turnaround momentum.
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