



NMDC’s rally may be about more than iron-ore price hikes
₹500/tonne and ₹450/tonne to ₹5,300 and ₹4,500, respectively, barely a month after increases ₹100 and ₹50 implemented on 6 March.Markets cheered the move, interpreting it as a signal that pricing power may be returning to the ferrous cycle amid strong domestic steel demand and firm global prices.Morgan Stanley also flagged restocking activity amid rising prices. Seaborne iron-ore prices have risen about 8% since the end of February, partly aided by the West Asia war.Interestingly, brokers are divided over how profitability turned out for NMDC during Q4FY26, with Nuvama Institutional Equities estimating a 5% reduction in Ebitda per tonne, while Kotak Institutional Equities expects an 11% year-on-year increase in the metric.Against this backdrop, the latest price hike is a welcome relief, sending shares soaring this week.
The stock has gained over 3% since the end of February, outperforming the 5% drop in the benchmark Nifty 50 index, but barely extending the 35% rally seen over the past year. That indicates the bigger story lies elsewhere.NMDC has been hitting record production levels, and is diversifying into the country’s strategic priorities—critical and rare-earth minerals.The company recently crossed 50 million tonnes (MT) in annual production for the first time, ending FY26 with roughly 53 MT output, up 21% year-on-year.
It is targeting 100 MT by FY30, backed by a ₹70,000 crore expansion roadmap.India’s steel consumption story continues to offer a long growth runway for NMDC, the country's largest iron-ore producer. With the government targeting 300 MT crude steel capacity by FY31, and realizations protected to an extent with safeguard duties, iron ore demand is expected at 430 MT, said an ICICI Securities
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