Leading paper manufacturer Ballarpur Industries Ltd (Bilt) on Thursday reported a 5.13% rise in its net profit at Rs 73.07 crore for the fourth quarter ended June 30 as compared to Rs 69.50 crore during the same period last year. The company?s revenue for the quarter went up by 16.60% at Rs 793.20 crore as against Rs 680.26 crore during the corresponding quarter last year. For the full year ended June; Bilt, which is part of the $3-billion Avantha Group, registered a growth of 19.06% in its net profit at Rs 303 crore as against Rs 256 crore during the last fiscal. Its revenue for the year grew by 19.9% to Rs 3,025 crore as against Rs 2,522.9 crore in the last financial year.
Despite increase in input costs, the company has managed to maintain its growth margins due to a series of price hikes undertaken since July; the company is mulling another hike next month.
?There will be a hike of 1.5-2% or Rs 700 per tonne in prices of uncoated paper from September 1. This will be over and above the Rs 1,600 per tonne hike that has already happened in prices of uncoated rubber since July,? RR Vederah, managing director, Bilt said while announcing the company?s results. The company had also hiked the prices of coated rubber by Rs 3,500 per tonne since July. As part of its Rs 1,400 crore expansion plans in India, Bilt will increase the production capacity of coated paper by 2,00,000 tonne at its plant near Pune by November. This will be followed by increase in the capacity of uncoated paper by 1,20,000 tonne at its Ballarpur plant. It will also increase the capacity of pulp at its Malaysia plant by 1,00,000 tonne and that of paper by 60,000 tonne.