Emami Paper targets Rs 5000-cr by 2025

Paperboard manufacturer, Emami Paper Mills (EMPL) reported profitable growth with profit after tax improved 125 per cent for FY 21-22. The company remains confident of fortifying its market standing in the paper and paperboard segment.

02 May 2023 | By Aditya Ghosalkar

Emami Paper expects to grow at 2.5x into a Rs 5000 cr revenue company by 2025

Emami Paper has a reported INR 1,957-cr revenue in FY 2021-22. This means INR 322.08-cr in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) and INR 114.80-cr in profit after tax.

In his speech to shareholders in the annual report for FY 21-22, Vivek Chawla, director and CEO, EMPL says that the improvement was the result of collaborative small improvements across operations. The gains generated by these improvements translated into an attractive increment over the prevailing industry average, deepening our outperformance.

On the growth aspect, Chawla added, “EMPL is weighing the options for either backward or forward integration. All our cash flows are likely to be allocated in this business with the objective that we graduate Emami Paper into an INR 5000-cr revenue company by 2025.”

A year ago, the WhatPackaging? Team had reported that the company is engaged in manufacturing of newsprint, printing & writing paper, and kraft paper with an aggregate installed capacity of 1,60,000 MTPA and packaging paper and board with a capacity of 2,00,000 MTPA at its manufacturing facility located in Balasore (Odisha) and Dakshineshwar (West Bengal).

Recently, the company developed an oil and grease-resistant paper, which was a completely new packaging paper application.

Five years ago, the then Gujarat chief minister laid a foundation stone for an INR 1000-crore greenfield multi-layer packaging board plant of Emami Paper Mills in Bharuch district.

As per the company’s promoters, the investments are yielding results. EMPL’s capacity utilisation increased from 72% in FY 2020-21 to 91% in FY 2021-22. The average raw material cost per ton increased 35% to INR 35,000 during the year under review. The company’s raw material cost as a proportion of revenues moved from 51% in FY 2020-21 to 55% in FY 2021-22.

EMPL has invested in three paper machines and one board machine; all fungible, capable of producing writing and printing, high-grade kraft paper and newsprint.

Last year, the capacity of the board plant increased to 2,00,000 TPA. The factory units were modified to make it multi-functional to produce newsprint, writing & printing, and kraft grade with a combined capacity of 1,40,000 TPA. And so, the total capacity was increased to 3,40,000 MT.

EMPL - At a glance

Sales growth - 26.03% increase in volume and a 60.96% increase in value.
Performance - Packaging board revenues grew by 48% over the previous financial year. Revenues grew 97% in the newsprint and writing and printing segments.
Exports - Increased from 26.20% of overall sales to 30.79% during the last financial year.