Steel Products

JSW to Sell Baytown, Texas Facility

August 22, 2013

JSW Steel Ltd. is considering selling its U.S. mill in Baytown, Texas said reports by Bloomberg. JSW, India’s third largest steel maker, hopes to pay off some of its debt and boost earnings margins by selling the USA asset. In its fourth quarter earnings statement in March 2013, the company reported a decline of 61.56 percent in consolidated net profit; debt is reported to be $3.4 billion.

The Baytown facility is currently operating at 40 percent capacity, said joint managing director Seshagiri Rao, but is expected to boost production to 50 percent from new construction and energy orders.

JSW acquired a 90 percent share of the Texas plant for $900 million in a joint venture in 2007 with JFE Holdings Inc. JFE now holds a 15 percent share in the company. The facility was expected to turn slabs from India into pipe and steel plate for the oil and gas industry but failed to meet expectations when the steel market bottomed out in 2008.

“The company will start looking for buyers once the plant has turned around,” said Rao in a phone interview with Bloomberg.