Tata Steel has postponed its UK business breakeven target by another 12 months to FY27, as reported by Mint. This marks the second revision of the company's Ebitda breakeven guidance, following an earlier deferral from the original September 2025 target to March 2026. Chief Executive TV Narendran stated that while steel prices have recovered by approximately 100 pounds, rising costs driven by the West Asia war have offset these gains. The company now expects to achieve breakeven this fiscal year, though it has not specified an exact price point for break-even.
The UK unit continues to drag on Tata Steel's European operations, contributing almost 10% to the company's total revenue from operations. According to Mint reports, the business reported an Ebitda loss of £170 million for the first nine months of the fiscal year. The company has been importing steel substrate to feed its UK downstream operations following the closure of Port Talbot blast furnaces in 2024, as part of the transition toward greener steelmaking technologies. In FY26, India operations achieved record performance with crude steel output of 23.48 million tonnes and deliveries of 22.53 million tonnes.
The UK government announced significant import restrictions to support domestic steel production, as reported by Mint. Starting July 1, 2026, steel import quotas will be slashed by 60% relative to current safeguard levels, with any steel entering beyond these limits facing a 50% tariff. This measure applies to imported steel products that can be manufactured domestically. The company had previously received a £500 million grant from the UK government in 2024 as part of a £1.25 billion funding for a 3 MTPA green steel project at Port Talbot.
In March, the board approved an equity infusion of up to $2 billion (approximately ₹18,500 crore) into T Steel Holdings Pte. Ltd, the Singapore-based holding arm for international operations. As reported by Mint, these funds will be deployed in tranches to support overseas subsidiaries through capital expenditure, restructuring costs, and debt repayment. Narendran highlighted that while Indian steel consumption continues growing at 8-10%, the company's profit margins are being squeezed by surging costs of shipping, insurance, and raw materials. The planned shift toward electric arc furnaces and greener production methods is expected to gradually improve cost efficiency.
