Grasim Industries’ plans for new businesses are on track, with the Aditya Birla group company planning to commission facilities for its paints business from the fourth quarter of this fiscal. Besides, its B2B e-commerce business for building materials is also now operational, according to chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla.
“In the paints business, the project work is progressing as per plans at all the six sites, and commissioning of plants will start in phases from Q4 of FY24. The state-of-the-art R&D facility is fully operational,” Birla told shareholders at the company’s AGM on Friday.
The company aims to be a strong number two player in the decorative paints industry, he added.
In January 2021, Grasim announced its plans to enter the paints business with a Rs 5,000-crore initial investment spread over three years. The company, which had started as a textiles manufacturer, was expecting the foray to identify new growth engines and add to the cash flows of its existing business portfolios.
Later in May 2022, it announced plans to invest Rs 10,000 crore by FY25, double of what was initially earmarked.
Talking about the B2B e-commerce business for building materials – ‘Birla Pivot’ – the chairman said it was operational in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Delhi. This initiative intended to align with the government’s goals for Digital India and the empowerment of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
“While our established businesses are set to consolidate their leadership positions, our newly-identified growth engines are poised to create a powerful impact,” he added.
In FY23, the company spent Rs 4,307 crore, its largest-ever capital expenditure, which included Rs 1,979 crore toward the paints business.
The year FY23 was a milestone year for Grasim with consolidated revenues surpassing the Rs 1 trillion-mark for the first time. Over the past three years, the company has achieved exceptional growth, with nearly Rs 40,000 crore added to consolidated revenues, he added.