The Hindu Business Line : Indsil upbeat on alloy smelter business

IMPROVED production and market environment for its speciality alloy smelter business has helped Indsil Electrosmelts Ltd stage a turnaround in 2003-04.

Optimistic on the current dynamism seen for its principal smelter product, low carbon silico manganese, used essentially by stainless steel manufacturers, the company has sought to spruce up its manufacturing and debt reduction.

It is also planning to enlarge its alloy smeltering plant capacity in Kerala's Palakkad districtfrom the current 14,000 tonnes to 19,000 tonnes.

Indsil is seeking a debt swap to retire high cost debts due to the debt investment on its hydel power project in Kerala.

Mr Vinod Narsiman, chief executive officer, told Business Line that the company, after being in the red consecutively in the two previous fiscal years, has posted a net profit of Rs 4 crore during 2003-04 (accounting year July-June). Its combined gross sales turnover from both smelter and power projects was Rs 68 crore. The company, in the previous two years (i.e; 2001-02 and 2002-03), had incurred a net loss of Rs 3.64 crore and Rs 6.9 crore, respectively.

The improved financial performance in the just ended fiscal, according to him, is due to higher productivity and better price realisation at the smelter plant.

The company could garner a net profit of Rs 3 crore in the fourth quarter alone, he added.

In addition to its silicon alloy smeltering plant and a 21-MW hydel power plant in Kerala, Indsil had been operating through a special purpose company, Indsil Energy and Electrochemicals, a 13,000-tonne capacity smeltering plant at Raipur in Chhattisgarh.