Tata Steel hits Rs 1 lakh crore in market capitalisation
Tata Steel on Tuesday touched Rs 1 trillion (Rs 1 lakh crore) in market capitalisation after the scrip hit a 52-week high of Rs 882.50. The gain pushed the market cap to Rs 1.05 trillion. Tata Steel now becomes the fourth company of the Tata Group to hit Rs 1 trillion in market capitalisation. The other three Tata Group companies in the elite list are TCS, Tata Motors and Titan.
The large cap stock gained more than 20 per cent in the last five days. The scrip has delivered a return of 223 per cent in one year and 34 per cent since the beginning of this year. The recovery in Indian economy led to improvement in steel demand.
S&P Global Ratings today raised its issuer credit rating on Tata Steel and its subsidiary ABJA Investment Co Pte Ltd to BB-minus from B-plus. It also raised long-term issue rating on senior unsecured notes issued by ABJA. It said that benefits of strong cash flows and management's commitment to lower debt should help Tata Steel to materially deleverage over the next two years.
The agency estimated adjusted debt levels for Tata Steel will decline by about 30 per cent by March 2023 from about Rs 1.1 lakh crore in March 2020. The company has already committed to reducing absolute debt levels by at least USD 1 billion per year from fiscal 2022.
Last week, rating agency Moody's Investors Service said it has changed its outlook for the company to stable from negative. "The rating affirmation and outlook change to stable are driven by a solid recovery in Tata Steel's operations in the third quarter of the fiscal year ending March 2021," Moody's Vice President and Senior Credit Officer Kaustubh Chaubal said. The agency predicted that Tata Steel will sustain the improvement over the next 12-18 months.
