Himadri Speciality Chemical Q4 profit jumps 51%, approves brownfield expansion

Kolkata-based Himadri Speciality Chemical Ltd, a supplier of speciality chemicals to automotive industry reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 115.18 crore during the Q4FY24 as against Rs 76.21 crore recorded in Q4FY23.

The company's revenues on other hand stood at Rs 1176.95 crore during Q4FY24 when compared with Rs 1028.90 crore in Q4FY23, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Furthermore, the company's Board approved brownfield expansion of a new speciality carbon black line of 70,000 MTPA (increasing the total speciality carbon black capacity to 130,000 MTPA) at an estimated capex of Rs 220 crores which is scheduled to be operational within 18 months. The company currently has 60,000 MTPA of speciality carbon black out of total carbon black capacity of 1,80,000 MTPA. The capacity utlisation of the facility during FY24 stood at 92%, the company added, before continuing that the funding for the expansion will come from internal accruals and borrowings.

The development comes, even as the company had in December last year, announced plans for setting up what it claims to be India's first commercial plant for lithium-ion phosphate (LFP) cathode active material. The 200,000 metric tons per annum, catering to 100 GWh of Li-ion battery at cost of over Rs 4,800 crore in next 5-6 years. The first phase of the plan is to have a 40,000 MTPA at an estimated cost of Rs 1,125 crore and to be operational in about 27-36 months’ time in Odisha.

Cathode materials are critical components required in the production of lithium-ion cells that constitute 50-55% of the cell cost, with LFP being one of the predominant materials used in the manufacturing of LiB cells.