Phillips Carbon Black Ltd. (PCBL) has short-listed Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh for locating its second unit in the South, which may be its biggest plant in India, company Chairman Sanjiv Goenka said. He said that PCBL was planning to diversify into chemicals and putting in the pipeline investments to the tune of Rs.1,200 crore by 2013.
Addressing a press meet, he said that the new carbon black unit would be located either in Tamil Nadu or in Andhra Pradesh, but may also be a split location project. PCBL has a unit in Kerala. “The location is likely to be finalised within the next fortnight depending on factors such as contiguity of land (40 acre needed) its price and proximity to port.”
Investment
He said that the diversification project (likely into carbon chemicals) was set to be in one of the eastern States and the matter would be settled within the next six weeks.
The investment in these projects, taken together with the investments in the expansion project at Mundra in Gujarat and the greenfield investment in Vietnam, would entail an investment of around Rs.1,200 crore which is to proposed to be met through internal accruals and debt.
PCBL expects to achieve financial closure for its Vietnam project before February, commencing it by April.
The project which would have an ultimate capacity of one lakh tonnes has recently bagged additional incentives as a high technology industry in Vietnam, Mr. Goenka said.
The company turned in its second quarter ended September 30, 2010, showing a lower net profit of Rs.24.30 crore against Rs.32.20 crore. Mr. Goenka attributed this to lower earnings from power business which now accounts for 15 per cent of the profits, and a higher incidence of taxation.
PCBL has a 60.5 MW power generation capacity through co-generation projects and is engaged in merchant power activities.
Expansion at Mundra
PCBL, which is India's largest carbon black producer and the world's eighth biggest, has four units in the country with a 3.6 lakh tonne aggregate capacity.
Of these, the biggest is in West Bengal and two units are in Gujarat (Baroda and Mundra), with the smallest unit being in Kerala. Its latest Indian unit, at Mundra in Gujarat, is proposed to be expanded by 50,000 tonnes.
