Chemplast Sanmar MD Ramkumar Shankar
Chemplast Sanmar Ltd. reported Q3 standalone net loss of ₹60 crore against net profit of ₹57 crore in the year-earlier period due to dumping by China and other countries.
Revenue from operations to slid to ₹439 crore from ₹630 crore, the specialty chemicals manufacturer said in a statement.
“Q3 performance ran into heavy weather due to further correction in PVC prices on account of dumping from China and other countries,” said MD Ramkumar Shankar.
Besides, there was a slow down in the other chemicals business due to the over-supply situation in India, increase in key feedstock prices and adverse impact of the lag effect in correction of vinyl chloride monomer prices, he said.
According to Mr. Shankar, the boom in the infrastructure and real estate sectors is driving the strong demand for PVC. The company expects a gradual recovery in prices and margins over the next 2-3 quarters. The other chemicals business is also expected to witness improvement in prices in the next 3-4 quarters once the excess supply is absorbed by the market.
Asserting that the company has a healthy pipeline in its custom manufactured Chemicals Division’s business, he said that three new products were commercialised this year and a number of products were under various stages of development.
“Despite the challenges on account of the downturn in the global agrochemicals industry and the consequent inventory rationalisation, we expect this business to deliver a reasonable growth during the year. While commercial production from Phase 1 of the expansion project has commenced, Phase 2 is expected to be completed in Q1,” he said.
“The 41 ktpa paste PVC project is expected to start commercial production in Q4. This will further cement our position as the leading paste PVC producer in India. Despite the recent uncertainty in the industry, we are confident of the long-term potential of all our businesses and are strengthening our capabilities and relationships to grow in a sustainable manner,” he said.
