CARE revises KIOCL’s outlook to Stable from Negative and reaffirms BBB+ on ₹1,050 crore of facilities

KIOCL Limited has told the exchanges that CARE Ratings Limited, in a press release dated 12 Oct 2026, reaffirmed CARE BBB+ for its long-term and CARE A2 for its short-term bank facilities of ₹1,050 crore, and revised the outlook to Stable from Negative.

CARE says the outlook change reflects a significant improvement in operating performance in FY26. Pellet production rose to 2.70 million tonnes from 0.93 million tonnes in FY25, and total dispatches rose to 2.81 million tonnes from 0.89 million tonnes. Capacity utilisation improved to about 77% from 27%, supported by higher conversion volumes under the arrangement with NMDC Limited. KIOCL made a net profit of ₹17 crore in FY26, against a net loss of ₹205 crore in FY25.

CARE cites the company's majority ownership by the Government of India, its Mini Ratna status, a net worth of ₹1,731 crore and gearing of 0.13x, and cash and liquid investments of about ₹826 crore as of 31 Mar 2026. It notes the pellet plant still faces occasional shutdowns for lack of iron ore fines, and that the Devadari iron ore mine's production timeline has been extended to 1 Jan 2028, with the forest land handover and working permission still pending.

Inference

A change in outlook from Negative to Stable means the agency no longer sees a downward rating risk in the near term, though the rating itself stays at BBB+. The change rests on the improved FY26 numbers, so how the company's operations perform is the main thing it depends on.

CARE's own watch items are the Devadari mine approvals and the supply of iron ore from NMDC. Shareholders may want to follow progress on both, and the company's quarterly results, to see whether the turnaround in volumes continues.