Low activity in Printing & Publishing plummeted Paper Mills’ Net Profit; JK Paper reports 72% drop in Q2

Low activity in Printing & Publishing plummeted Paper Mills’ Net Profit; JK Paper reports 72% drop in Q2

New Delhi | 30th October 2020 | The Pulp and Paper Times:

Covid -19 continued to affect the paper mill’s operations adversely during the quarter (July-September 2020) in view of closure of educational institutions, schools, colleges and commercial printing. However, there is an improvement in demand compared to the preceding quarter on resumption of economic activities in many sectors and full recovery in the market is likely to be gradual.

JK Paper Ltd reported a 72.23 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 33.40 crore for the quarter ended September, affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The company, whose board on Thursday approved a proposal to raise up to Rs 260 crore from the market, had posted a net profit of Rs 120.29 crore in the July-September period a year ago, JK Paper said in a regulatory filing.

Net Sales at Rs 638.44 crore in September 2020 down 19.25% from Rs. 790.62 crore in September 2019.

                     

Commenting on the results, Shri Harsh Pati Singhania, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, said “the Company was able to deliver an improved performance in the current quarter based on higher sales volumes, resulting in increased market share and higher capacity utilization compared to the preceding quarter. However realisation continued to be lower due to market disruptions and poor offtake. While economic and other activities have picked up in many sectors, full recovery in the market is likely to be gradual. In order to contain adverse financial impact, the Management decided to temporarily shut The Sirpur Paper Mills Ltd, step down subsidiary, from 1st September 2020 till market conditions improve.”

“Operations of the JK Paper continued to be affected significantly during the early part of the quarter, due to lockdowns in several parts of the country. Demand from education segment, one of the key demand drivers continued to languish with schools and colleges remaining closed throughout the quarter. Writing and printing paper has been particularly affected due to very low activity in the printing and publishing segments. Towards the end of the quarter however there were some signs of pick up in demand. The Packaging Board segment has performed relatively better” the company said in a post-earnings statement.

Web Title: Low activity in Printing Publishing plummeted Paper Mills Net Profit JK Paper reports 72percent drop in Q2