Emami Paper to Convert 60,000 MT Newsprint Capacity into other Value Added Products

Emami Paper to Convert 60,000 MT Newsprint Capacity into other Value Added Products

Kolkata | 5 Oct 2019 | The Pulp and Paper Times: 

After being imposed of hiked import duty on the Newsprint segment, the prospective growth of newsprint is still under 'watch'. Paper Industry is not finding the viability in producing the newsprint. Emami Paper, the major Newsprint manufacturer in the country, has decided to convert its newsprint facility to value-added products. 

“Newsprint industry scenario has improved in the first half of 2018-19 with an increase in prices of newsprint by about 30% and an increase in demand for quality newsprint. However, the newsprint industry witnessed a depressed market scenario in the second half of the year due to a higher volume of imports at cheap rates.

Considering the altered and challenging scenario, Emami has decided to go in for a change in the product mix by converting 60,000 MT Newsprint capacity to any other value-added and premium quality product,” Mr.  A. V. Agarwal, Executive Chairman of Emami Group said in the Annual report.

He further said that “Emami Paper is currently undertaking a market survey and obtaining expert views in the matter before proceeding further,” 

“Emami Paper recorded its highest turnover of INR 1528.48 crores as compared to INR 1366.37 crores in 2017-18 registering a growth of 11.9%. Earnings before Interest, Depreciation and Tax (EBIDTA) increased by 41% to INR 242.32 crores as against INR 171.87 crores in 2017-18. During the year under review, the combined production from Packaging Board, Newsprint and Writing & Printing paper stood at 3,22,359 MT and the capacity utilization stood at around 100%. The Company also recorded its highest sales volumes of 3,04,089 MT. Exports accounted for 16754 MT as against 13209 MT in the Previous Year. The Company is continuously focusing on improving operating efficiencies and reducing manufacturing cost for better financial performance,” Report says.

Mr. Agarwal said “The year 2018-19 was a market with volatility and disruptions. However, Emami continued to perform consistently well even under these challenging times and delivered better results,”

“Emerging markets like India and China will drive the market for the paper packaging segment, with applications across industries like healthcare, personal care, home care, retail and others. With the focus now shifting towards eco-friendly and sustainability, paper packaging is expected to gain traction with many countries pushing for paper packaging products over plastic packaging, which poses a significant threat to the environment” Report says.

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