INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Mumbai: Chemicals and textiles manufacturer Grasim Industries posted improved net profit for the March quarter, however, a one time
exceptional charge and higher costs in the quarter pulled down the company's net earning
Standalone net profit stood at Rs 373 crore, up by 18% since last year
Revenue from operations grew by 48% at Rs 4,606 crore
EBITDA for the quarter grew by 70% at Rs 947 crore
To be sure, however, the figures are not comparable on a year on year basis as last year's results do not include the performance of
Aditya Birla Nuvo which was merged with the company effective from July 1, 2017
An exceptional item of Rs 213 crore was incurred on stamp duty on acquisition of assets which pulled down the company's profits
The Viscose Staple Fibre business reported a 15% increase in net revenue at Rs 2,232 crore
The business reported its highest ever sales volume for the year at 508 KT, led by growth in the domestic market and intense market
Chemicals business net revenue reported an increase of 35% at Rs 1,439 crore
The company has given an in-principle approval of brownfield expansion of its caustic soda facility at multiple plant locations for Rs 1,000
This will take the company's planned expenditure for the year to Rs 7,400 crore out of which Rs 6,400 crore has already been approved
Factoring in the planned expenditure by group cement company UltraTech of Rs 6,000 crore, the total consolidated expenditure for the year
will touch Rs 13,000 crore, Sushil Agarwal, chief financial officer at Grasim said
At a standalone level, the company had net free cash flow of Rs 400 crore after it spent Rs 2,000 crore on investments in the past year
In its outlook for the year, the company said that the VSF business will continue to focus on expanding in the domestic market by
partnering with the textile value chain, achieveing better customer connect through its brand Liva
However, new capacities likely to come up in China may impact prices in the near term,
For the chemicals busines, the company perceives
demand from user industries like alumina and textile to grow
