L&T Energy CarbonLite Solutions Secures LNTP for Mega* Order of 1,600 MW Thermal Power Plant

L&T Energy CarbonLite Solutions has secured a Limited Notice to Proceed (LNTP) from NTPC Ltd for the main plant package of the 2x800 MW Lara Stage-III thermal power plant in Chhattisgarh. The Notice to Proceed will be granted once the project secures environmental clearance and the LNTP period is completed.

The project entails the construction of two state-of-the-art 800 MW ultra-supercritical generating units. L&T's scope encompasses the design, engineering, manufacturing, supply, erection, testing and commissioning of Boilers, Steam Turbines, Generators, Electrostatic Precipitators (ESPs), Air Cooled Condensers (ACC) and their auxiliaries, along with associated mechanical, electrical, control & instrumentation and civil works.

The tasks will be executed on an EPC basis using ultra-supercritical technology, which offers higher efficiency and lowers specific emissions. Once commissioned, the plant will add 1,600 MW of reliable baseload generation capacity to India’s grid, helping meet the country’s growing electricity demand driven by industrial expansion, urbanisation and infrastructure development.

Commenting on the development, Mr T Madhava Das, Whole-time Director, Sr. Executive Vice President & Head - Energy Hydrocarbon Division, L&T, said: “This award is our third ultra-supercritical project from NTPC in the past two years, reflects the trust that India’s largest power utility continues to place in our engineering, manufacturing and project execution capabilities. Over the years, we have developed deep expertise in delivering large-scale projects that are critical to the nation’s energy infrastructure. We remain committed to executing this project with the highest standards of quality, safety, and operational excellence”.

L&T Energy CarbonLite Solutions, a business vertical of L&T, is uniquely positioned to combine rich and diverse strands of experience in engineering, manufacturing and project execution with a strong focus on providing solutions for power and low-carbon processes. Its in-house strengths are complemented by collaborations with global leaders in engineering and manufacturing.

ArcelorMittal Delivers Strong Q2 2026 Results, Boosts Margins and Growth Outlook

ArcelorMittal (referred to as "ArcelorMittal" or the "Company" or the "Group") (MT (New York, Amsterdam, Paris, Luxembourg), MTS (Madrid)), the world's leading integrated steel and mining company, today announced results1 for the three-month and six-month periods ended June 30, 2026.

2Q 2026 key highlights:

Safety focus: Protecting employee health and safety is a core Company value. The multi-year safety transformation continues to deliver measurable improvements, with LTIF rate of 0.60x in 2Q'26.

Delivering structurally improved margins: The Group's results continue to demonstrate resilience; 2Q 2026 EBITDA of $2.1bn, which represents a margin of $155/t, significantly higher than historical per tonne averages, reflecting the benefits of strategic investments, optimized assets and diversified market exposures. Europe EBITDA per tonne improved by $28/t sequentially, with further upside expected as the benefits of the new TRQ trade tool are realized. Net income in 2Q 2026 was $0.7bn (basic EPS of $0.90/sh).

Financial strength: After returning $0.6bn to shareholders and net working capital investment, net debt increased modestly compared with the prior quarter to $9.5bn4. Liquidity7 remains robust at $10.4bn, and the Company's free cash flow outlook for 2026 and beyond remains unchanged.

Strong underlying cash generation, supporting shareholder returns and growth investment: The business generated $0.5bn of underlying free cash flow in 1H 2026, after investing $0.8bn in strategic growth projects and excluding the seasonal $2.0bn working capital investment. Given the positive prospects for 2H 2026 profitability, healthy cash generation in 2H 2026 should support continued returns to shareholders and lower net debt.

Capital return policy is creating significant value for shareholders: During 1H 2026, the Company returned $0.7bn to shareholders ($0.2bn dividends and $0.5bn share buybacks). Following the partial monetization of its Vallourec stake, the proceeds of which have been allocated to share buybacks, shareholder returns in 2026 are expected to exceed the policy minimum (i.e. quarterly base dividend of $0.15/sh plus 50% of post-dividend FCF allocated to buybacks). The fully diluted share count has been reduced by 38% since September 20205.

Strategic focus:

Positive outlook across the near, medium and long term: ArcelorMittal is well positioned to deliver value-accretive growth, with robust shareholder returns, whilst maintaining a strong investment-grade balance sheet. Our medium and long-term growth prospects are underpinned by a unique portfolio of opportunities. Alongside the next phase of our growth in India, the world's fastest-growing major steel market, the Company is currently reviewing potential downstream expansions in Brazil (leveraging our low-cost assets and long slab position), and further capacity growth in Liberia (leveraging existing infrastructure). Electrical steels is a core growth focus globally, with projects underway in the US and Europe, and opportunities under development in other key regions. We also see significant opportunities to further expand our renewable energy portfolio, generating more resilient, non-cyclical earnings while enhancing the competitiveness and sustainability of our steel business. Renewables is a key pillar of the Sustainable Solutions segment which remains on track to double its EBITDA by 2028 (vs. 2023).

Financial highlights (on the basis of IFRS1):

(USDm) unless otherwise shown	2Q 26	1Q 26	2Q 25	1H 26	1H 25
Sales	16,761	15,457	15,926	32,218	30,724
Operating income	1,055	753	1,932	1,808	2,757
Net income attributable to equity holders of the parent	683	575	1,793	1,258	2,598

Commenting, Aditya Mittal, ArcelorMittal Chief Executive Officer, said: "Today's results, with second quarter EBITDA per tonne of $155, demonstrate the continued evolution of our business towards structurally higher levels of profitability. A key element is the improved outlook for our European business. The implementation of the new tariff rate quota alongside CBAM is creating a more balanced competitive environment. With Europe volumes in the third quarter projected to be stable to higher compared with the second quarter - counter to normal seasonal trends - and positive momentum across our other businesses, we anticipate higher shipments in both the third quarter and the second half of the year, with all segments expected to outperform first-half volumes."

On safety, we are making encouraging progress. While there is more work to do, we are reporting a record low LTIF for the first half of the year, reflecting the growing impact of our safety transformation programme and the strong commitment of teams across the Group to create safer workplaces every day.

On 1st August, ArcelorMitttal will celebrate its 20th anniversary. Over the past two decades, we have expanded into some of the world's most attractive steel and mining markets, including India and Southern United States, enhancing the quality of our earnings and increasing our exposure to long-term growth drivers. Our strategic growth initiatives are a key differentiator and position us to create value well beyond the current cycle. From 2026 onwards, this project portfolio is expected to add a collective US$1.8 billion of incremental EBITDA. These projects increase our exposure to long-term growth themes including electrification, renewable energy and grid infrastructure.

Our growing pipeline of future growth opportunities, strengthening contributions from our strategic JV portfolio, and focus on disciplined capital allocation - all backed by an investment grade balance sheet - mean ArcelorMittal is well positioned to deliver structurally higher quality earnings and continue to provide attractive shareholder returns over the long-term. With steel reaffirming its critical importance as a material that supports not only economic growth, but also the energy transition and AI led infrastructure build out, we look forward to further growth, innovation and digitalization in the next decade and beyond."

Safety and sustainable development

Health and safety:

Protecting employee health and safety is a core Company value. The multi-year safety transformation continues to deliver measurable improvements, with an LTIF rate of 0.53x in 1H 2026 vs 0.66x in 1H 2025.

In 2026, the safety transformation program progressed into its implementation and scale-up phase, focused on embedding execution discipline and delivering consistent, high-quality safety performance across all regions. During 1H 2026, more than 8,000 leaders were assessed against the updated Health and Safety Competency Model, supporting a consistent One ArcelorMittal safety culture globally. In addition, an upgraded Contractor Health and Safety Management Standard was rolled out, establishing a consistent framework to strengthen contractor safety performance across all operations. These initiatives form part of the Company's ongoing efforts to achieve its ambition of zero fatalities and serious injuries.

Own personnel and contractors - Lost time injury frequency rate

	2Q 26	1Q 26	2Q 25	1H 26	1H 25
North America	0.28	0.15	0.29	0.21	0.26
Brazil	0.17	0.17	0.39	0.17	0.35
Europe	1.17	0.85	1.23	1.00	1.21
Sustainable Solutions	1.21	0.72	1.26	0.96	1.24
Mining	0.37	0.19	0.11	0.28	0.17
Others	0.48	0.49	0.54	0.54	0.50
Total	0.60	0.45	0.68	0.53	0.66

Sustainable development highlights:

Sustainable solutions: Continuing to build exposure to attractive low-carbon infrastructure growth markets. In June 2026, ArcelorMittal Building Solutions announced plans to construct a new manufacturing facility in the United States. Together with recent investments in India and Brazil, the facility will further strengthen ArcelorMittal's global presence in insulated panels for more energy-efficient buildings. These investments are expected to contribute approximately $0.1bn of incremental EBITDA by 2031 once fully ramped up.

Electrification is a structural growth driver for steel: Investments in electrification (wind power, solar power and grid expansion) currently targeted by various government policies could require 240-290Mt of steel ex-China through to 2035. ArcelorMittal is well positioned to capture growth through its portfolio of high-value add, high-margin products serving solar, wind, electrical steel and also transmission infrastructure markets.

Analysis of results for the six months ended June 30, 2026 versus results for the six months ended June 30, 2025

Sales for 1H 2026 increased by 4.9% to $32.2 billion as compared with $30.7 billion for 1H 2025, primarily due to 10.2% higher average steel selling prices partially offset by lower shipments.

Operating income for 1H 2026 was $1.8 billion, broadly stable with the underlying performance recorded in 1H 2025. 1H 2025 operating income of $2.8 billion included $1.0 billion of net exceptional gains (a $1.2 billion exceptional gain mainly related to the acquisition of Nippon Steel's 50% stake in AM/NS Calvert, partly offset by $0.2 billion of impairment charges related to the divestment of the Zenica integrated steel plant and Prijedor iron ore mining business in Bosnia).

Depreciation cost for 1H 2026 was $1,529 million, higher than $1,353 million in 1H 2025, primarily due to the consolidation of Calvert (since June 2025) and foreign exchange impact. 12M 2026 depreciation guidance remains unchanged at approximately $3.0 billion.

EBITDA increased by 8.8% to $3,743 million in 1H 2026 as compared to $3,440 million in 1H 2025, primarily driven by stronger results in Europe, North America (reflecting the impact of the Calvert acquisition) and the India and JVs segment partly offset by weaker results in Brazil and Mining.

Income from associates, joint ventures and other investments increased to $406 million in 1H 2026, as compared to $298 million in 1H 2025, reflecting stronger contributions from AMNS India and European investees partially offset by the full consolidation of Calvert since June 2025.

Foreign exchange and net financing charges amounted to $366 million in 1H 2026 as compared to an income of $123 million in 1H 2025 primarily on account of foreign exchange impacts. 1H 2026 was negatively impacted by a 3.0% appreciation of the US dollar against the Euro, while 1H 2025 benefited from a 12.8% depreciation of the US dollar against the Euro.

Net interest expense increased to $269 million in 1H 2026 as compared to $121 million in 1H 2025, primarily due to higher average gross debt (including impact from consolidation of Calvert) and lower interest income.

Net income in 1H 2026 of $1,258 million (EPS of $1.65/sh) compares to adjusted net income4 of $1,810 million (adjusted EPS of $2.37/sh) in 1H 2025.

Net cash provided by operating activities in 1H 2026 was $952 million as compared to $1,062 million in 1H 2025 and includes a working capital investment of $1,981 million as compared to $1,491 million in 1H 2025.

Analysis of results for 2Q 2026 versus 1Q 2026

Sales increased by 8.4% to $16.8 billion in 2Q 2026 as compared to $15.5 billion in 1Q 2026, primarily reflecting 4.4% higher average steel prices and 4.1% increase in steel shipments.

Operating income increased to $1.1 billion in 2Q 2026 as compared to $0.8 billion in 1Q 2026.

EBITDA increased by 22.9% to $2,064 million in 2Q 2026 as compared to $1,679 million in 1Q 2026, driven by improved performance across all steel segments.

Net income in 2Q 2026 increased to $683 million (EPS of $0.90/sh) as compared with $575 million (EPS of $0.76/sh) in 1Q 2026.

Net cash provided by operating activities in 2Q 2026 amounted to $1.0 billion (including a $0.5 billion investment in working capital) as compared to net cash used in operating activities in 1Q 2026 of $9 million (including a $1.5 billion seasonal investment in working capital). Capex totalled $1.1 billion (including strategic growth projects totaling $0.4 billion) for 2Q 2026 and $1.3 billion for 1Q 2026 (including strategic growth projects totaling $0.4 billion and $0.2 billion payment on signing the new Mineral Development Agreement in Liberia)10. Net debt increased to $9.5 billion as at June 30, 2026, as compared to $9.3 billion as at March 31, 2026. 

NTT DATA Payment Services Launches ADAPTIS In India To Integrate Payments & Business Operations

As India's digital commerce ecosystem continues to expand, merchants and enterprises are increasingly looking for integrated solutions that bring together payments, commerce, and business operations on a single platform. Responding to this shift, NTT DATA Payment Services India today announced the launch of ADAPTIS, its unified service brand for payment and commerce solutions.

The launch brings together NTT DATA Payment Services India's payment acceptance, merchant solutions, value-added services, and commerce capabilities under a single brand.

Designed for businesses ranging from neighbourhood merchants and growing MSMEs to large enterprises, ADAPTIS enables merchants to accept payments, streamline operations, deliver seamless customer experiences across online and offline channels, and manage their entire commerce journey through one integrated platform.

Mr. Takeo Ueno, Whole-time Director & CEO, NTT DATA Payment Services India, said – India is a critical market in our regional growth strategy, driven by strong digital adoption and the evolving needs of merchants. With ADAPTIS, we are combining our global expertise with deep local market understanding to deliver secure, scalable and customer-centric commerce solutions for businesses of all sizes.

This launch reinforces our long-term commitment to expanding our merchant reach, strengthening ecosystem partnerships and supporting the continued growth of India's digital payments landscape.”

Mr. Shinichiro Nishikawa, Head, Global Payments Strategy & Transformation Section, NTT DATA Japan, added - The launch of ADAPTIS in India marks an important milestone in our vision to build a unified payment and commerce platform across markets. By bringing our together capabilities under a single brand, we aim to deliver consistent, high-quality experiences to merchants while retaining the flexibility to - meet the unique needs of each local market.

Mr. Rahul Jain, Chief Financial Officer, NTT DATA Payment Services India, said - ADAPTIS represents an important milestone in strengthening our business for long-term sustainable growth. By bringing our capabilities together under one unified brand, we are better positioned to deliver greater value to our partners while supporting the evolving needs of merchants across India.

In India, ADAPTIS will offer four key service pillars tailored to the local market:

• ADAPTIS In-Store: Seamless payment solutions for physical retail environments. 
• ADAPTIS e-Commerce: Secure and scalable online payment solutions
• ADAPTIS Enterprise: Enterprise-grade payment infrastructure and business solutions
• ADAPTIS VAS (Value-Added Services): Value-added solutions that enhance operational efficiency and customer engagement. 

With nearly two decades of experience in India’s payments landscape, NTT DATA Payment Services India currently serves millions of merchants and processes over 100 million transactions annually, supported by secure, PCI-DSS compliant infrastructure and cutting-edge technology.

About NTT DATA Payment Services India

NTT DATA Payment Services India is an RBI-licensed payment aggregator and a leading digital payments solutions provider, focused on enabling secure, reliable, and scalable transaction experiences across industries. We partner with enterprises, institutions, and service providers to support online, in-store, and assisted acceptance channels, helping businesses streamline collections while maintaining strong operational and governance control. Backed by NTT DATA, a global IT and business services leader, the company combines global expertise with deep local market insights to deliver secure, scalable, and innovative payment solutions.

Visit www.nttdatapay.com

Veritas Finance IPO: ₹900 Crore Fresh Issue, OFS of 12.8M Shares

Veritas Finance Limited, a diversified, retail-focused non-deposit taking NBFC registered with the Reserve Bank of India, under the scale-based regulations of the RBI, classified as an ‘NBFC-Middle Layer’ has filed its DRHP with SEBI for an IPO.

Established in 2015, Veritas Finance primarily provide small business loans to micro, small and medium enterprises and self- employed individuals, and over the years, has expanded its business to include home loans and used commercial vehicle loans. As of March 31, 2026, the company’s Loans (AUM) aggregated to ₹9,134.2 Crore, growing at a CAGR of 26.33% for the period between FY24 to FY26. The company posted a profit of ₹ 330.3 Crore for the year FY26 growing at a CAGR of 16.11% for the period between FY24 to FY26. Its disbursements grew to ₹ 4,579.5 Crore for the year FY26 at a CAGR of 11.22% for the period between FY24 to FY26.

The offer comprises of a fresh issue of equity shares aggregating up to ₹ 900 crore and an Offer for Sale (OFS) of up to 12,827,093 equity shares by the selling shareholders. The face value of each equity share is ₹10.

The company proposes to utilise the net proceeds to augment its capital base for meeting future business requirements and supporting onward lending.

The Company, in consultation with the BRLMs, may consider a Pre-IPO Placement of Specified Securities aggregating up to ₹ 180 Crore, as may be permitted under applicable law, at its discretion, prior to filing of the Red Herring Prospectus with the RoC. The Pre-IPO Placement, if undertaken, will be at a price to be decided by the company, in consultation with the BRLMs. If the Pre-IPO Placement is completed, the amount raised pursuant to the Pre-IPO Placement will be reduced from the Fresh Issue.

Veritas Finance focuses on addressing the financial needs of underserved and underbanked MSMEs and individuals by providing access to credit. To address the significant credit gap in these sectors, it offers a range of products, including small business loans, housing loans, used commercial vehicle loans, and working capital loans. The company has invested in building a wide distribution network across rural and semi-urban areas with a branch network (excluding service centres) of 444 branches across 10 states and 1 union territory in India, as of March 31, 2026. It has a well-established presence in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and West Bengal.

The equity shares offered through the Draft Red Herring Prospectus are proposed to be listed on BSE Limited ("BSE") and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited ("NSE") (collectively, the "Stock Exchanges").

ICICI Securities Limited, IIFL Capital Services Limited, JM Financial Limited and SBI Capital Markets Limited are the Book Running Lead Managers to the issue.

Arboreal Secures ₹230 Cr Series A to Scale Specialty Food & Nutraceutical Ingredient Innovation in India

• Co-led by Omnivore and EAAA Alternatives, the round will accelerate proprietary R&D, advanced manufacturing and commercialization of next-generation functional ingredients.

Arboreal Bioinnovations Private Limited, India’s first specialty food and nutraceutical ingredients technology company, today announced the successful close of its ₹230 crore Series A funding round. EAAA, the alternatives arm of Edelweiss and Omnivore co-led the funding round, with continued backing from existing investor Rainmatter by Zerodha.

The transaction represents one of the largest Series A fundraises in India’s specialty food ingredients sector. Arboreal will deploy the capital to expand its manufacturing capacity, strengthen its research and development capabilities, and accelerate the commercialization of its next generation of functional ingredients.

Arboreal has built a differentiated “contextual innovation” model focused on developing ingredient solutions for the specific nutritional, functional, sensory and commercial requirements of Indian consumers and brands. This approach has enabled hundreds of emerging and challenger brands to launch category-defining products and scale rapidly across the food, beverage and nutraceutical markets.

The company’s integrated ingredient technology platform brings together ingredient engineering, process research and development, formulation science and precision manufacturing. Arboreal has developed and commercialized proprietary ingredients across next-generation proteins, cocoa-based ingredients, natural zero-calorie sweeteners and functional fibres, with several additional ingredient platforms currently under development.

Having more than doubled its growth year-on-year, Arboreal’s portfolio of “better-for-you” ingredients and its “ingredient-first innovation” model have supported more than 300 product launches across over 1,100 consumer brands and nutraceutical manufacturers during the past 18 months.
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Swati Pandey, Co-Founder and CEO, Arboreal Bioinnovations, said - This fundraise is a strong validation of the direction we are taking as a company. It gives us the fuel to accelerate our mission of building clean, science-led solutions that address some of the world's most pressing nutritional and food challenges, with innovation originating in India and reaching consumers globally.

Manish Chauhan, Co-Founder and COO,  Bioinnovations said - This fundraise marks an important milestone in Arboreal’s journey from building IP led ingredient technologies to enabling big shifts across categories through ingredient first innovation. The confidence shown by EAAA, Omnivore and Rainmatter validates both the strength of our platform and the opportunity ahead of us. It gives us the ability to invest more deeply in science, manufacturing, talent and long-term innovation, while building a platform capable of creating differentiated ingredients for some of the world’s most important food and nutraceutical brands. We are excited to build Arboreal into a globally respected ingredient technology company from India.

Ashish Agarwal, Managing Director, Private Equity, EAAA Alternatives, added, " The investment in Arboreal reflects the core philosophy of our Fund’sstrategy - backing businesses with the potential to emerge as category leaders. As the first investment from our Discovery Fund II, we are particularly excited at the long term growth prospects of Arboreal’s next-generation yeast protein products We look forward to working with Swati and Manish as they continue to build category leadership in R&D-led nutraceutical ingredients.”

Jinesh Shah, Managing Partner at Omnivore, said, "The shift toward clean-label and functional foods requires engineered ingredients that deliver clear health benefits without sacrificing taste or margins. Arboreal fills a critical market gap with locally developed formulations. From sweetener alternatives to novel yeast proteins and collagens, Arboreal’s R&D stack positions them to power the next wave of health and wellness brands."

Dinesh Pai, Head of investments at Rainmatter, said, "We all lament that India does not allocate capital for enough R&D. Aside from all the things everyone else shared in their reasoning for the investment, we truly wanted to back Swati and Manish in building a world class R&D team working on food ingredients from India. We believe that they are the right team, with exceptional grit to chase down this problem. Rainmatter exists to back these audacious bets, and this is one of them."