Rising Steel Demand Adds Heft TOJSPL

Naveen Jindal-led firm cashes in on the government's infrastructure focus with speciality products like railroad rails and large beams.

- Ashutosh Kumar

LARGE STEEL BALLS flanking a passageway lead to an awe-inspiring set of bronze monolithic columns that fuse into each other representing the five elements of nature — Prithvi (earth), Agni (fire), Vishnu (water), Vayu (air), and Akash (sky) — at the inner courtyard of 12 Jindal Centre, the corporate headquarters of domestic steel major, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd. (JSPL).

Naveen Jindal, non-executive chairman, JSPL deeply reveres nature and considers Hindu epics, as the greatest books he ever came across. “The Holy texts have something to offer to everybody,” says Jindal. A health enthusiast and an avid golfer, Jindal handles corporate and political life with equal ease. He means business when donning the hat of chairman of JSPL but transforms into a ‘people’s man’ — as he puts himself — when dealing with the affairs of his Lok Sabha constituency in Kurukshetra (Haryana).

JSPL’s gross sales touched ₹57,958 crore in FY24, registering a three year CAGR of 14.8%. Profit after tax (PAT) stood at ₹5,938 crore, logging a three year CAGR of 17.8%, while return on capital employed was 13.1%. The company’s performance in the last three years had been on the back of several factors, Jindal points out. “Paying more attention to work, inspiring the team to do better have been key drivers of growth,” says Jindal, adding that deploying tools such as management enterprise systems and digitalisation, too, have contributed.