Specialty steel manufacturer Jai Balaji Industries is projecting a revenue growth of at least 25% for the current financial year, driven by increased sales volumes of ductile pipes and specialised ferro-alloys, senior management disclosed. The company's revenue reached an all-time high of Rs 64.13 billion in the 2023-24 fiscal year, with operating margins at 15%. Profitability for the current year is expected to rise to 17-18%. Based in Kolkata, Jai Balaji currently generates just over half of its revenue from ductile pipes and ferro-alloys. The company aims to boost this to 80% following the completion of its capacity expansion in the medium term. Jai Balaji plans to expand its production capacity for ductile iron pipes from 300,000 tonnes to 660,000 tonnes per year by 2026. The company holds a 10% market share in the domestic ductile pipes market and targets an increase to 15-20% after the expansion. Government initiatives such as the ?Jal Jeevan Mission? and ?Mission Amrut Sarovar? are driving additional demand for these pipes. In the ferro-alloy segment, Jai Balaji is increasing capacity by 14% to 190,000 tonnes per annum in the current fiscal year, aiming for a turnover of Rs 8 billion, up more than 45% from the previous year. The ferro-alloy segment currently contributes 20-25% of the company's revenue, with plans to increase this to 30-35% by next year. Last fiscal year, Jai Balaji produced 115,000 tonnes of ferro-alloys and 242,000 tonnes of ductile pipes. The company plans to spend around Rs 3-3.5 billion on capital expenditures this year, part of a total planned expenditure of Rs 10 billion, all funded from internal accruals. Jai Balaji reduced its debt from Rs 8.71 billion in March 2023 to Rs 3.98 billion by March 2024. With a net debt to operating profit ratio of 0.4 times, the company plans to be debt-free within 15 months. Having been loss-making since at least 2013-14, Jai Balaji turned profitable in the 2021-22 fiscal year and has posted a profit for three consecutive years. (Source:ET)
