JSW Steel Q3 output up 6% at 7.48 MT despite Vijayanagar furnace shutdown

JSW Steel made a lot of steel in the quarter of the financial year 2026. They produced 7.48 million tonnes of steel. This is 6 percent more than they made during the same time last year. JSW Steel is really stepping up its steel production. The company produced steel this time around with JSW Steel seeing a nice increase, in its crude steel production.

The company got that result when the Blast Furnace 3 at the Vijayanagar complex was not working because it was being upgraded. This upgrade started at the end of September 2025. The Blast Furnace 3 is expected to be working again by the end of the fourth quarter of the financial year 2026. When the Blast Furnace 3 was shut down it meant that the Indian operations had capacity to work with. The Blast Furnace 3 being shut down was a thing that reduced the available capacity, at the Indian operations of the company.

The company was able to increase output even though the BF3 plant was not working. This happened because the company used plants and lines more. They also found ways to make products. The company made more of the products that’re in high demand. They were able to work efficiently. In some months the market demand was stronger, for the BF3 company products. This meant the company could sell the products they already had in stock and use assets more. The BF3 company was able to do all these things because of management and operational decisions. The output growth of the BF3 company is a thing.

The Indian operations were working at a capacity utilization of 93 percent if we do not include BF3 and about 85 percent when we include the BF3 capacity. This shows that the rest of the operations were doing very well during the quarter. The Indian operations were really strong when it came to using the capacity to the fullest.

1) Let us take a look at the numbers: 7.48 MT and a increase of 6 percent from last year. What do these numbers mean and why are they important to us. The numbers are 7.48 MT and the increase is 6 percent from year. We need to understand what 7.48 MT is and what this increase of 6 percent from year means for us. The 7.48 MT is a number and the 6 percent increase, from last year is something we should know about.

When a big steel company like JSW says they made 7.48 million tonnes of steel in a quarter this number is the amount of steel made at all the places they own and control. This includes the steel made in India the steel made in their mills, in the United States and the steel made at places where they work with companies. For JSW the 7.48 million tonnes of steel is the amount of steel they made in the third quarter of the financial year 2026. People often use this number to compare how different steel factories are doing and to see how they are doing from one quarter to the next and to compare them to steel companies. The company had a 6% increase from year to this year. This means the amount of stuff they made this quarter is more than what they made in the same quarter last year by about six percent. The 6% increase is a deal because it shows that the company is doing better this year than they were doing last year. The 6% increase is what they call a year, over year increase, which’s a way to compare how well the company is doing this year compared to last year.

This is what it is about: why the thing matters to the people who care about the thing and that is the thing that we are talking about the thing itself and why it has an impact on our lives and the lives of people who are interested, in the thing.

When it comes to commodity steel businesses the main way to increase revenue is, by growing the volume. If the prices of the products are not changing much or are getting better then selling more of the steel products is the key. This means that the total sales of the company will go up and the business will also run smoothly. The company will be able to make money from selling commodity steel because the volume of commodity steel is growing.

The company is using a lot of its mill capacity. When the mill is used a lot it helps to lower the cost of making each tonne of product. It also helps to improve the earnings of JSW. JSW used a lot of its capacity. 93 Percent if you do not include BF3 and 85 percent if you include BF3. This shows that the other parts of the mill were working hard. This is a sign that JSW can handle a lot of work and that people want to buy what they are making. JSWs mill capacity utilization is a thing.

The headline is really good it says 7.48 MT, which’s a 6 percent increase, from last year. This is a result when we look at it on its own. What makes it more interesting is that one of the big blast furnaces was not working because it was being upgraded. So the company was still able to do even though it did not have all of its equipment working. This is the point of the story: the company grew even though one of its big machines was not working.

2) What was the Vijayanagar BF3 shutdown. Why did they do the Vijayanagar BF3 shutdown?

JSWs Vijayanagar complex is one of the steel sites that JSW has. They have a blast furnace at Vijayanagar called Blast Furnace 3. This Blast Furnace 3 was closed from the end of September 2025. The reason for this was to make some changes and increase the capacity of Blast Furnace 3 at Vijayanagar. They were hoping to finish all the work on Blast Furnace 3 by the end of the quarter of the financial year 2026. The company said that the work, on Blast Furnace 3 is part of a plan to make the Vijayanagar complex produce more steel and reduce the cost of making each tonne of steel at Vijayanagar. The BF3 outage took away a part of the capacity that was available to make things during the quarter. This would usually mean that the amount of things made would be lower.. The amount of things made actually went up. The BF3 outage had an impact but the volumes of things made still rose.

Why upgrade a blast furnace?

When we talk about capacity uplift we are looking at upgrades that can increase the amount of work that can be done. For example the people in charge have said in the past that they are going to make some changes at Vijayanagar. These changes will add about 2 million tonnes to the capacity, at Vijayanagar. So the capacity of Vijayanagar will be higher after these upgrades are made.

Upgrades can make a difference when it comes to efficiency and emissions. They can help lower the amount of coke or coal that is used. They can also reduce the amount of energy that is needed. This is good for a companys margins. It is also good, for the environment, which is what people mean by ESG performance when they talk about efficiency and emissions improvements and ESG performance.

When we talk about long-term competitiveness big companies that make a lot of things often do something called planned shutdowns. This means they stop working for a while. They do this so they can make things in the future and it will cost them less money to make each thing. This is what usually happens with companies that make a lot of different things, like long-term competitiveness. They plan these shutdowns to help with long-term competitiveness.

The shutdown was. People knew about it ahead of time. So the market sees it as a way to invest in the company for the future than something that went wrong. When this happens it is okay if the company cannot make much for a little while because they will be able to make more later and it will cost them less to do it. The shutdown is like a trade the company gives up a little now. The company will get more benefits from the shutdown in the future like higher output and lower costs, from the capital investment.

3) The question is how did JSW increase its production when the BF3 was not working. What steps did JSW take to make this happen with the things they could control on a basis.

The combination of different operational responses and market conditions is what made growth possible for the company. The company had operational responses and these operational responses along, with the market conditions really helped. The market conditions and the operational responses of the company worked together to make this growth happen for the company.

Running other furnaces and plants harder (higher utilization)

When the BF3 was not working the company used blast furnaces and electric arc furnaces to make up for the loss. They also used the facilities that shape the metal into the form more often. JSW said that in India they were using 93 percent of what they could if you do not count the BF3. This means that the other parts of the company were working all the time. It seems like the people, in charge made a plan to use the machines more often to make up for the metal that the BF3 was not producing. The BF3 not working meant that the other blast furnaces and electric arc furnaces had to work to make the same amount of metal.

Optimal product mix and downstream throughput

Companies that make steel can sometimes make steel by planning better and focusing on the products that can be made quickly. For example they can make flat steel that is used to make cars and build roads instead of making specialty steel products that take longer to make. If the company focuses on the machines that can make steel quickly or sends hot metal to certain machines they can make more steel overall. When the company talks about their results they often mention that they are changing what products they make. In their report they said that they were still making a lot of steel even though things were tough. The steel company is trying to make steel by using their machines better and making the products that are in high demand like flat steel for cars and roads and this is what the management said in their last report, about the companys steel production.

Use of alternate steelmaking routes / subsidiaries

JSW makes a lot of things at places. They have lots of factories and machines that produce stuff. If one place does not make enough another place can make more to help out. This is what they mean by consolidation. So if the factories in the United States or other countries make an extra that can make up for if the factories, in India do not make as much. When JSW puts out a report it shows how all the factories did together. The report said that overall they made things than before.

Inventory drawdown & better scheduling

Companies will sometimes make products ahead of time or sell some of the extra products they have stored away when a furnace is not working. This helps the company keep getting money. On the hand companies can also use the products they have stored away to fill orders if they are not making as many products as they usually do. The total amount of products made only shows how much crude product is actually made. How companies manage their stored products and schedule shipments can affect whether a furnace outage causes a big drop, in the amount of products made that is reported each quarter. Companies use furnace and production to make the crude product and the furnace outage affects the production.

Planned/short shutdown vs unplanned outage

The thing about BF3 shutting down for an upgrade that was scheduled is that it makes things easier to work with. When something like this is planned you can get other units ready to go at the time. You can also make sure you have the parts you need. This means you can do maintenance on things at different times and move things around in your inventory in a smart way. All of this planning helps to reduce the impact on what you’re producing. BF3 being down for a scheduled upgrade is just easier to deal with because you know it is coming. You can plan for BF3 to be, out of commission and make adjustments accordingly.

Commissioning of new/augmented lines and trial runs (if any)

JSW has done something in the past that’s worth noting. When they get equipment up and running they include the test production numbers in their quarterly reports. Now when BF3 was not working they might have done some test runs. Gotten a little extra production from other lines that they had updated or just started using at JSW. This could have made up for some of the production they lost from BF3. People usually think that the numbers, for the quarter of the year will be better because they will be getting the benefits of having all the equipment up and running again.

When you look at these steps that the company is taking it shows how the total production of the company could go up from year even though one of the big machines a large furnace was not working for part of the quarter or maybe even the whole quarter. The companys total production or consolidated output is still going up.

4) Things that helped the market and businesses do well. People wanting to buy things the prices of things sending things to countries and the types of products that companies made and sold like the market and commercial drivers of demand, prices, exports and product mix.

So there are two things to think about when it comes to production. The operational ability to produce is one thing. This means we need to be able to make the products. The other thing is commercial which is about whether people want to buy what we make. We need to know if there is demand, for the products so we can sell everything we produce from the units.

Domestic demand backdrop

Indias steel demand has been doing well lately because of things like infrastructure and construction projects and also the rail and capital goods sectors. If people in India are buying a lot of steel then JSW can make steel in India and sell it without having to lower the price too much. When India buys steel the factories that make steel can work at a better pace and this helps to keep the prices stable, for JSW steel.

Export windows

Exports can really help make demand more stable throughout the year. If other countries want to buy what JSW makes and the prices are good then JSW can send some of its products to these countries. But exports also depend on how much it costs to ship things and what tariffsre in place so JSW has to think about exports and how they are affected by these costs and tariffs and also how exports can help with demand, for JSW products.

Product mix — higher-value segments

JSW makes a lot of products. They have steel that is used to make cars and appliances. They also have steel products that are used to build things.. They have special coated and processed items that are worth more money. When people really want to buy these products JSW can charge more money for them. This helps JSW make money for each tonne of steel they sell. It also helps them when they have problems making steel for a time.

Price environment and raw-material spreads

Even if the prices of steel are not a lot higher than they were year it is good that the difference between what the company gets for its steel and what it pays for the things it needs to make steel like coking coal and iron ore is stable or a little better.

If the company can keep selling its steel for the price and not let its costs get too high the company will still make a decent profit.

We will have to wait for the company to put out its results to see exactly how the company did in the third quarter things like how much money the company made for each tonne of steel it sold. The production numbers the company put out are mostly, about how much steel the company made.

These commercial supports help JSW to run the rest of its plants at a high utilization rate. This means JSW can sell the things it makes without having to lower the prices a lot. So JSW can make things and this leads to better financial results, for JSW. The extra production really helps JSW to do financially.

5) Let us look at the capacity utilization of the company and what they have told us about it, including the numbers they gave us and what these numbers actually mean for the company. The company has given us some information, about capacity utilization so we need to understand these numbers and what they say about the companys capacity utilization.

The company shared some numbers about how much they are using their capacity. These numbers are really important to understand the results for the quarter. The company thinks these capacity numbers are key, to figuring out the Q3 result.

The Indian operations were working at 93 percent of what they can do not including the BF3. This means that the rest of the facilities not including the BF3 were used a lot during the third quarter. They were working all the time. This is a high level of use and it shows that the other Indian facilities were working really hard to make up for the fact that the BF3 was not working. The Indian operations, excluding the BF3 were running at full capacity.

The site was using about 85 percent of its capacity including the BF3 capacity. When you count the BF3 nameplate the utilization goes down. This makes sense because the total capacity is bigger when the BF3 is not working. The big difference, between 93 percent and 85 percent shows that the BF3 is a part of the sites total capacity. The BF3 represents a part of the sites overall capacity, which is why the numbers are so different.

Interpretation:

The company is running at ninety three percent utilization, which is really good. This shows that they are managing things well and people really want what they are making. A lot of steel mills try to keep utilization between eighty and ninety five percent. This is because when you are running at around ninety percent or more you can cover your costs better. However running at high utilization all the time can be tough, on the equipment and might cause unexpected problems. The fact that the company can keep running like this even when they have a planned outage is a thing. It shows that they know what they are doing.. It also means they have to be careful and watch out for problems all the time.

6) Financial and margin implications (how production ties into P&L)

Production volumes are really important. When we want to see how much money we are actually making we need to think about the margins, what we are getting for our products and what it is costing us to make them. Production volumes are one part of the picture so we have to look at margins and realizations and costs too to get a clear idea of the financial impact of our production volumes.

When a company like JSW sells more of its products the revenue of JSW normally goes up.. The profitability of JSW depends on the prices of the products of JSW and how much money JSW makes from each tonne of products of JSW. If JSW is able to sell products and keep the prices of the products of JSW high or even make the prices of the products of JSW higher than the costs of making the products of JSW then the EBITDA of JSW and the net income of JSW will be good.

The production release from JSW does not tell us how much money JSW made. We have to wait for the full quarterly financials of JSW to know that.. When companies like JSW can sell more products and use their machines and factories at full capacity the costs of making each tonne of products of JSW go down. This means the margin metrics, per tonne of products of JSW get better.

When a company does a BF3 upgrade they have to pay for the project. This is a big cost. The company also has to deal with costs for each unit of product they make because they are making fewer units during the upgrade. This is because the company has fixed costs that do not change. When they make fewer units these fixed costs are spread out over fewer units.

If the company has other plants that can make up for the units that are not being made during the upgrade then the cost of the fixed costs can be kept low. The BF3 upgrade is done to help the company make units and make them more efficiently, over time. This should help the company make money in the long run by reducing the cost of each unit of product they make. The BF3 upgrade is an investment that the company makes to improve their long term profits.

Working capital and inventory are closely related to the production and sales of a company like JSW. When JSW produces and sells products in a quarter this can have an impact on working capital. For instance if JSW sells a lot of products in a quarter the company will have money coming in from customers, which is known as receivables and this can affect the cash flow. On the hand if JSW has weaker sales the company may have more finished goods, in stock which means inventory will increase and this can use up a lot of cash. JSWs working capital is important to consider in these situations.

People who invest their money will want to look at the reports that come out every quarter to see if the company is selling more and making more money from it. They want to know if the company is making a profit, for every tonne of product they sell. They also want to check how money the company is spending on new projects and what they think they will spend in the future to upgrade the BF3. Investors will look at the financials to see if the volume increase translated to better EBITDA/tonne and net profit and to check the money the company is spending on the BF3 upgrade.

7) Let us look at how this plan works with JSWs strategy, for the few years. We need to see how this idea fits into what JSW wants to do in the term. The main thing is to understand how this plan is connected to JSWs strategy. We have to think about how this will help JSW achieve its goals in the few years. JSWs medium-term strategy is very important. This plan should be a part of it.

JSW Steel wants to do a things in the long run. They want to get bigger make their products for money per ton offer more kinds of products and be better, at the things they do before they even make the steel. Here are a few things to think about:

The company has a capacity expansion program. This program includes the BF3 upgrade and other projects to increase capacity. These projects are part of a long term plan. The plan is to add capacity to the company over several years. The company wants to add about 2 million tonnes of capacity. They will do this by upgrading some parts of the company or, by adding lines. This will give the company options in the next few years. The capacity expansion program is a part of the companys plans. The BF3 upgrade and other projects will help the company grow and improve.

Let us focus on making our steel production process. We can do this by upgrading the machines that make the steel, which are called blast furnaces. This will help us use coke and energy to make each tonne of steel. For a steel company that makes a lot of steel and tries to keep costs low it is very important to use less energy and coke to make each tonne of steel. This is because when steel prices go down the company needs to keep its costs low so it can still make money. So improving the way we make steel’s crucial for a big steel company, like this.

The company is in different places and it sells a lot of different products. This helps because the company has numbers from all these places combined. The company can do well even if one place is having problems because it has places that can help out. The company has offices and factories in its country and in other countries too. This means the company can keep going even if something bad happens in one of these places. Geographic and product diversification is really important, for the company.

Investor messaging. When a company can still deliver volume growth during a planned outage this is a message to send to investors. It shows that the company is strong and can handle problems. It also shows that the people in charge are good at planning and that the company can meet the demand for its products. All of these things can help support the value of the company long as the financial reports confirm that the company is making a good profit. Delivering volume growth during a planned outage is a message to investors because it signals that the company has good operational planning and can absorb demand. Investor messaging like this can be very important, for companies and delivering volume growth is a part of this messaging.

8) Risks, watch-points and what to look for next

JSWs production is doing well when it comes to the amount of goods they are making which’s a good thing. However there are still some concerns and unanswered questions, about JSW that investors and analysts should pay attention to.

Recommissioning. Timing and ramp: The BF3 upgrade is going to be ready by the end of the quarter of the financial year twenty twenty six. The exact date when the BF3 upgrade is recommissioned is really important for the fourth quarter production and for the annualized throughput of the year twenty twenty six. We need to keep an eye on the BF3 upgrade commissioning updates and the production levels, during the trial runs and check if there are any issues that slow down the ramp up of the BF3 upgrade.

When we are talking about capital expenditures also known as capex and the costs of projects things can get really expensive. Sometimes upgrades can cost a lot more than we thought they would. That is why it is an idea to keep an eye on the capex guidance and check if there are any changes, to the project budgets. We need to watch out for capital expenditures and project cost overruns because they can be a problem. Capital expenditures and project costs can get out of hand if we are not careful.

Biofactors are really important when it comes to commodity prices. The price of things like coking coal and seaborne iron ore can go up and down a lot. This also happens with coke and freight. When these prices change it can affect how much it costs to make something, per tonne. If the prices move in a way it can reduce the margins even if the company is selling more Biofactors. The cost of Biofactors can change quickly so companies have to be careful.

When we think about demand durability we have to consider that the third quarter is one quarter. To keep things going we need demand that can last a time not just in our own country but also in other countries where we export things.

Things like how much money is being spent on infrastructure how many cars are being. What is happening in the real estate market will all have an effect on the fourth quarter and the time after that. Demand durability is important for sustained utilization. We need demand, across domestic and export markets to keep utilization high.

When we have outages in other places we have to use the remaining equipment more. This means the equipment will get worn out faster. If we have another outage at a different furnace or a critical plant it could really hurt the amount of product we can make and deliver. Using the equipment a lot is good because it is efficient.. It also means we do not have a lot of extra room to handle unexpected problems. If something goes wrong it could be a deal. We need to be careful, with the outages and the remaining equipment. The unplanned outages are a concern because they can affect the furnaces and critical plants.

When we think about things that can affect how we do business we have to consider environmental factors. This includes getting clearances and following emissions rules. Sometimes there can even be shutdowns although this does not happen very often. All of these things can have an impact, on our operations. Regulatory and environmental factors are important to think about because they can change how we operate. For example environmental clearances and emissions rules can affect what we can. Cannot do.

When we talk about price realization, versus discounts there is something to consider. If the company sells products that is a good thing.. If the prices of these products go down because of competition or imports the extra money they make from selling more products might not be as much as they thought. The price of the products is what really matters for the companys revenue. So even if the company sells a lot of products if the price realization of these products is low the revenue will not increase much as they want.

The people who study the company will want to see more than the amount of stuff they sell. They will also want to know about the companys profit from selling each tonne of product how money they get for each thing they sell what they pay for the materials they use what they plan to spend on new projects and when they will finish building new things. They will look for all of this information when the company puts out its financial report, for the quarter and when the managers talk about how the company is doing.

9) What do the people, in charge say about how thingsre going and what can we expect to hear when they talk about how much money the company made

When a company makes something they usually send out press releases and announcements to the stock exchange. These things that the company sends out typically include:

I want to see how the company is doing in places. They should show us how the Indian operations are doing compared to the operations. I also want to know how much they are producing each month. The company notice has all this information. It says they produced 7.48 MT in total. I want to see the breakdown of this production by month and by place like operations, versus overseas operations.

I want to talk about what happened when BF3 was shut down and how it affected the operations. We need to look at the timing of the shutdown. When we can expect BF3 to be up and running again. This will help us understand how it impacted the capacity utilization of operations. The BF3 shutdown is a deal, for Indian operations and we need to think about how it changed the way they work.

Guidance on commissioning schedules and any interim capex commentary.

What to watch in the earnings call:

Management’s view on spreads and raw material outlook (especially coking coal and domestic iron ore linkage).

I want to know more about the BF3 upgrade. What is the exact date when the BF3 upgrade will be ready to use? How more can the BF3 upgrade handle compared to what we have now? When will we see the benefits of the BF3 upgrade on the amount of work we do and the costs. I am looking for details, on the BF3 upgrade.

People are wondering what will happen with production and sales in the quarter. The main question is whether the fourth quarter will get better when BF3 is available again. The fourth quarter expectations are really, about whether things will improve with BF3 in the picture.

Any one-offs or maintenance schedules planned for the rest of the fiscal year.

10) Bottom line — how to interpret the Q3 result

The company is really good at running its operations. They made six percent stuff this year than they did last year. This is a deal because one of their big machines, a blast furnace was not working. The people in charge did a job of planning and making things happen anyway. They scheduled things carefully. Used other machines to make up for the one that was not working. This meant they were able to keep producing a lot of stuff when the blast furnace was offline. The companys operational competence is very strong. They were able to make the most of the situation by running units, at very high levels.

Term positive: The BF3 upgrade is something that the company is investing in to be able to make things in the future and to spend less money on each thing. So it is okay if the company loses a money now as long as the BF3 upgrade is finished on time and does not cost more than planned. The real test will be what happens after the BF3 upgrade is finished. If the BF3 upgrade really helps the company make more money from each thing it makes.

Watch margins and capex: Volume growth is only valuable if margins hold. The next pieces to check are the full Q3 financials (EBITDA, EBITDA/tonne, net profit) and the Q&A — those will show whether the volume growth translated into better financial performance.