Century Plyboards (India) Ltd registered a 24 per cent rise in standalone net profit at ₹113 crore for the quarter that ended March 31, 2023, as against ₹91 crore during the same period last year.
Revenue from operations on a standalone basis increased by 7 per cent at ₹962 crore during the quarter under review as against ₹895 crore in the same period last year.
The company’s board has recommended a dividend of ₹1 per equity share of face value of ₹1 each. Sequentially, net profit was up by nearly 40 per cent from ₹81 crore during the third quarter ended December 31, 2022.
For the year ended March 31, 2023, standalone net profit was up by nearly 13 per cent at ₹367 crore as against ₹325 crore during FY22.
According to Sajjan Bhajanka, Chairman, Century Plyboards, despite the challenging demand scenario and sustained inflationary environment, the company managed to achieve its highest-ever quarterly revenue, EBITDA, and profitability in Q4 FY23.
Bhajanka said, “In some measure of CenturyPly’s aggressive expansion plan, the company has made capital endowments to bolster their horizon across the country. The company is authorising additional MDF plants with investments of more than ₹600 crore by the second quarter of the financial year 2023-2024.”
He added, “The company’s growth in the recent past has been steady leading to significant revenues. With facilities, CenturyPly is planning to optimise and expand capacity wherever there is a possibility.”
At the EBITDA level, the company did ₹176 crore (18.1 per cent margins) as against ₹166 crore (18.6 per cent margins) in the same period last year.
New plant
At Hoshiarpur, the company is coming up with a plywood plant alongside the MDF plant by H2 FY24. The plyboard expansion model in Chennai is likely to materialise by March 2025. In addition to this, the company is investing ₹500 crore for particle board in Tamil Nadu.
The upcoming HPL (High-Pressure Laminates) line project in Andhra Pradesh has been commenced and is expected to come into force by the end of FY24. The company is preparing to invest ₹200 crore on the project.
The company’s scrip closed at ₹576.35, up by 1.21 per cent on the BSE on Monday.