Higher production and increased sales and realisation have contributed to Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers’ net profit doubling during the second quarter of the current year compared with the previous quarter.
Total income increased by 16 per cent. Production during the first half of the year increased to 1.91 lakh tonnes (1.83 lt) with sales of 1.82 lt (1.55 lt).
TNPL hopes to achieve financial closure by next month for the Rs 1,500-crore greenfield, multi-layer board plant it is planning in Tiruchi.
Equipment supply
Leading equipment suppliers – Voith, Germany; and Metso, Finland – are bidding to supply paper machines for the project.
The company has also called for global tenders for 30 MW power plant equipment and two 85-tonne boilers.
The company had earlier announced that it was comfortable on the funding side and banks are keen to participate.
The debt relating to its previous expansions have been nearly repaid.
Loans relating to the Rs 525-crore pulp mill development plan have been fully repaid and more than half the debt linked to Rs 780-crore paper production expansion has been paid and will be completed by June 2015.
At no point will the debt-equity ratio exceed 1:1, the company had announced.
balaji.ar@thehindu.co.in