Shares of NMDC, India’s largest iron ore producer, are likely to be in focus on Tuesday, September 2, following the release of its August production and sales figures.
Iron ore sales rose to 3.39 million tonnes (MT), compared with 3.14 MT in the same month last year.
Cumulatively, sales for April-August 2025 stood at 18.37 MT, up from 16.27 MT a year earlier. On the production side, output in August was 3.37 MT, higher than 3.07 MT in August 2024. Cumulative production for April-August 2025 reached 18.45 MT, compared with 14.43 MT in the corresponding period last year, according to the company’s regulatory filing.
Analysts expect NMDC’s production to reach 50 MT by FY26
In 1QFY26, volume growth was sluggish due to the early onset of the monsoon. However, steady price hikes by the company helped offset the impact of weaker volumes, resulting in healthy operating profit.
Iron ore production during the quarter stood at 12 MT (+31% YoY, -10% QoQ), while sales came in at 11.5 MT (+14% YoY, -9% QoQ). The average selling price (ASP) for the quarter rose to ₹5,851 per tonne (+9% YoY, +6% QoQ) as iron ore prices remained elevated.
Looking ahead, domestic brokerage Motilal Oswal expects volumes to rise steadily to 50 MT in FY26 and 55 MT in FY27, supported by an increase in EC limits. The brokerage has largely maintained its estimates for FY26-27, driven by stable realizations and healthy, volume-led operating growth.
NMDC has lined up capex for evacuation and capacity-enhancement projects, aimed at improving its product mix and raising production capacity to around 100 MT by FY29-30.
The company had net cash of ₹63 billion as of FY25 and is expected to generate operating cash flow (OCF) of ₹190 billion over the next two years. According to the brokerage, this will support its capex plans without overleveraging. Motilal Oswal has a buy rating on the stock with a target price of ₹70 apiece.