Himadri Speciality Chemical’s first-half profit rose 29% to ₹460 crore as stronger speciality-business sales lifted revenue, while a ₹1,500 crore investment plan targets new materials and mining growth.
Himadri Speciality Chemical reported a sharp rise in first-half earnings as stronger sales across its speciality businesses helped lift revenue, profit and cash generation in the six months to September. Business Standard said consolidated revenue from operations climbed 43% year on year to ₹3,123 crore in the April-September period, while profit after tax rose 29% to ₹460 crore. The company also said revenue in the September quarter surged 57.93% from a year earlier to ₹1,691.43 crore, with net profit up 31.33% to ₹231 crore.
The topline gain was driven by higher volumes and a better product mix, but margins came under pressure as input costs increased. According to the company’s earnings call remarks and analysis from Cofacto.ai, EBITDA margin slipped to 17.93% in the quarter from 22.21% a year earlier, reflecting a faster rise in material costs and freight charges tied to exports. Himadri said EBITDA still rose to ₹303 crore in the quarter, while it kept pointing investors towards absolute earnings per tonne rather than percentage margins as the more meaningful measure of performance.
The group is also pressing ahead with a series of new material projects that it says could broaden its earnings base over the coming quarters. The company told investors it is advancing work on carbon nanotubes, speciality carbon black, lithium iron phosphate cathode active material and silicon carbon anode technology, alongside a larger capital expenditure programme. On the call, management said about ₹250 crore was spent in the latest quarter and that the overall capex plan is expected to cost roughly ₹1,500 crore, to be funded from internal accruals. The company also said it had received environmental clearance for its mining business, which it expects to begin contributing this quarter and could add about ₹500 crore in annual revenue.
Himadri is trying to build more vertical integration around its existing carbon materials business, and that strategy now extends to tyres as well. The company said it now owns 100% of Birla Tyres, after a proposed restructuring that remains subject to the usual approvals. Business Standard reported that the tyre arm has become a wholly owned subsidiary, while management said the business recorded ₹140 crore in sales and was nearing break-even. The company also said working capital improved sequentially in the quarter, falling to 37% of sales from 41% in the June quarter, although it remained above the level seen a year earlier.
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