The Hindu Business Line : Phillips Carbon aims at Rs 1,000-cr turnover

PHILLIPS Carbon Black Ltd (PCBL) is targeting Rs 1,000-crore turnover within the next three years, the company Chairman, Mr Sanjiv Goenka, has said. He also indicated possibilities of PCBL investing in a fourth plant.

Addressing the company's shareholders at the annual general meeting here today, he said that the industry outlook was optimistic.

He was confident that turnover would rise to Rs 800 crore from Rs 560 crore during the year-ended September 2003.

He indicated that the quantum jump in turnover would be achieved through leveraging the company's surplus power at its captive power plants, which were being set up.

He said the company was investing Rs 100 crore each at its facilities in Vadodara and Durgapur on programmes for augmenting capacity and setting up power plants using off-gas that would be used internally and also sold to third parties.

While the capacity for production of carbon black at the Gujarat plant would be increased from 18,000 tonnes per annum to 88,000 tpa, that of Durgapur is projected to increase by 25,000 tonnes from 1.2 lakh tonnes per annum now.

The RPG-group company also has a unit in Kochi.

PCBL announced a 25 per cent dividend for 2002-03 when PAT increased from Rs 5.4 crore to Rs 18.6 crore.

Turning to the current year, Mr Goenka told the shareholders that during the first quarter beginning October 2003 PCBL doubled its exports.

This was on top of a 32 per cent growth in exports in the previous fiscal.

The company plans to increase its exports (at Rs 53 crore in 2002-03) through its tie-up with an international tyre major for export of carbon black on a long-term basis.

Elaborating on plans for a fourth plant, Mr Goenka told reporters that that this may either be located outside the country or within and both the options of greenfield investment and acquisition were being explored.

"Having ensured optimum utilisation at the three plants it is perhaps time to look for another plant," he said.