Archive · 16 Aug 2026
ICICI Pru's Lalit Kumar Bets on Steel and Textile Exporters
Lalit Kumar is a person who helps people invest their money at a big Indian investment company called ICICI Prudential.
He talked about which businesses he thinks will grow well in the future.
He likes steel companies because he thinks they will make more money than before.
He likes long steel more than other kinds of steel.
He also likes companies in India that make clothes and other goods to sell to other countries.
He thinks India's currency value and big changes in the world help these companies succeed.
He is careful about hospital businesses because their profits are already very high.
He says we should wait and see how companies do in the next few months before making big decisions.
He tells investors to pick new companies with strong long-term advantages.
Overall, his plan is to buy things that are cheap now and avoid things that are very expensive.
ICICI Prudential AMC Senior Fund Manager Lalit Kumar is positive on commodities but prefers ferrous metals, especially long steel, over non-ferrous metals.
Kumar says the steel cycle is still below mid-cycle, with structurally higher EBITDA per tonne and lower capex intensity supporting returns.
He sees opportunities in textile and manufacturing exporters, citing India's currency advantage, geopolitics and diversification into new categories.
Kumar is cautious on hospitals, where margins and valuations are near peaks, and advocates a selective approach to new-age companies based on long-term moats.
He warns against extrapolating strong Q1 earnings, citing inventory gains and cost increases that will catch up in coming quarters.
- Who
- Lalit Kumar, Senior Fund Manager at ICICI Prudential AMC
- What
- Shared his investment outlook, favoring steel (ferrous and long), textiles and manufacturing exporters, while remaining cautious on hospitals and selective on new-age companies
- When
- Not explicitly stated; the discussion references April-June 2026 (Q1FY27) results
- Where
- India's equity markets, with references to China's steel market and global factors like oil and geopolitics
- Why
- He sees structurally higher EBITDA per tonne in steel, currency and geopolitical tailwinds for exporters, and peak margins in hospitals
- Fund Manager
- Lalit Kumar
- Company
- ICICI Prudential AMC
- Preferred Metals
- Ferrous over non-ferrous; long steel over flat
- Steel Cycle View
- Still below mid-cycle despite strong Q1 results
- Positive Sectors
- Steel, textiles, manufacturing exporters, cement, airlines, NBFCs, exchanges
- Cautious Sectors
- Hospitals, with margins at all-time high and valuations near peak
- Export Tailwinds
- Currency advantage, geopolitics, foreign trade agreements and diversification into new categories