CSN swears it has found the formula that turns debt into dividends. Under mounting investor pressure to deleverage, the group has unveiled a plan that looks more like sleight of hand than strategy. After a modest return to profit, it now promises to ease its debt burden by selling off part of its empire. A spin-off to create CSN Infraestrutura could raise “billions of reais” by 2026, according to company executives. As ever, Steinbruch performs the act with a showman’s grin.
The numbers help sustain the illusion. Leverage fell only slightly even as total debt rose, leaving investors unconvinced. The mining arm continues to provide the shine, masking the dull performance of steel — where margins stay thin and sentiment cautious. Analysts at BTG Pactual called the quarter “operationally solid but financially restrained,” a diplomatic way of saying the math still needs magic.
The spin-off is meant to bundle seven infrastructure assets — from the Transnordestina railway to Rio de Janeiro’s ports — and sell them as a single package to investors already circling. It should unlock liquidity and cut leverage without touching dividends, which remain almost sacred at CSN. In theory, it’s corporate alchemy; in practice, a bet on timing. Brazil’s infrastructure market is rarely in a rush to sign big checks.
If iron-ore prices hold and the spin-off closes on schedule, Steinbruch may yet prove himself a true magician — turning iron and concrete into cash. If not, the hat will still be there — but the rabbit may be gone.
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