The Hindu Business Line : Everest Ind sees Rs 200-cr turnover

EVEREST Industries Ltd (EIL), an ACC subsidiary, is in growth mode. Aided by an increase in sales volume of its roofing products, the company is likely to record a turnover of about Rs 200 crore for the year ended March 31, 2004.

Roofing products, which include asbestos fibre-based as well as asbestos-free fibre cement products, account for about 85 per cent of the company's turnover. Cement major ACC has a 76 per cent stake in EIL. ACC had, in 2002, purchased 50 per cent shareholding in EIL from Etex Group of Belgium.

"Our sales turnover for 2003-04 will be about Rs 200 crore. In the previous year (2002-03), our sales touched Rs 172.75 crore. Our turnover during the year 2001-02 stood at Rs 137.75 crore. We hope to sustain year-on-year growth of about 20 per cent in volumes, sales turnover and profits in the coming years," Mr M.L. Gupta, Managing Director, EIL, told Business Line here.

Sales volume of the company's roofing products has grown from 1.93 lakh tonnes in 2001-02 to 2.59 lakh tonnes in 2002-03 and to 3.04 lakh tonnes in 2003-04.

The increased demand for roofing products has prompted the company to go in for capacity expansions. "We are investing about Rs 15 crore to expand our capacity in the plant at Kymore in Madhya Pradesh and also to put up an additional unit in Podanur in Coimbatore. Both will get commissioned during 2004-05 and we hope to derive additional volumes from these two expansions," Mr Gupta said.

After the modernisation at the Kymore plant, the production capacity would get enhanced from 68,000 tonnes of asbestos roofing to 78,000 tonnes. It would also result in lesser manpower requirement at the plant. In the case of the Podanur unit, the expansion would lead to doubling of capacity from 78,000 tonnes to 1,56,000 tonnes per annum.

EIL has also taken an in-principle decision to undertake an expansion of its non-asbestos E-board line at Nashik. E-board products are made from cement, cellulose, silica, fly ash and select mineral fillers. The E-Board range is commonly used for applications such as false ceilings, panelling, doors, backliners and pre-fabricated structures.

Mr Gupta hoped that the new Government, which would assume office after the general elections, would do away with the existing countervailing duty (CVD) on poly vinly alcohol (PVA) fibre. EIL imports PVA fibre to manufacture non-asbestos roofing products.

"There are no manufacturers of PVA fibre in India. But still, we have to pay countervailing duty on our PVA imports. We have been representing to the Government that the CVD should not be imposed on our PVA imports," he said.