Graphite Cova GmbH German group of companies, wholly-owned subsidiary of Graphite India Ltd, has decided to gradually and completely shut down production in the course of next week, beginning March 23.

In a notification to stock exchanges on Saturday, Graphite India said in view of the coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19), with a view to protect its employees, the local management of Graphite Cova GmbH has decided to shut down production. The closure, as of now, would be effective till April 13, 2020.

Whether the work can be resumed on April 14, 2020, or this phase would need to be extended would be decided by the Graphite Cova group management, Germany, on or before April 13, 2020, the company said in its notification.

The subsidiary is into manufacturing graphite electrodes, graphite and carbon products and speciality products. For the year ended March 31, 2019, Graphite Cova GmbH reported turnover of ₹1,260 crore and profits of ₹558 crore, as per information available in the company’s latest annual report.

On a consolidated basis, Graphite India had clocked total turnover of ₹7,858 crore and registered profits of ₹3,396 crore for the year ended March 31, 2019.

On financial impact

The performance of the German subsidiaries, which had turned around in FY18, had shown sharp improvement during FY19 following recovery in electrode demand as well as prices, the company had said in its annual report.

The financial impact following the shutdown in production could not be ascertained immediately.

“In view of the prevailing force majeure conditions, financial impact of the above is not ascertainable at this stage. We will keep you informed of the developments if any, in this regard,” the company said.

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