The proposed expansion of Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd (HPL) christened 'Super Max' is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2008, a company official said. The company board has approved the expansion plan involving expansion of naphtha cracking capacity to 670 kilo tons per annum from the present level of 523 kilo tons, a company official said. The estimated project cost was Rs 840 crore, to be funded from debt and internal accruals, but there has been a cost overrun of Rs 40 crore.
The company was also evaluating the techno-economic studies for the new projects. In spite of the strained relation between the two promoters, the West Bengal government and the Chatterjee Group (TCG), the networth of the company increased from Rs 544 crore in March 2002 to Rs 2,786 crore as in November 2007. The official said that HPL had successfully scripted a turnaround as the company posted a net profit in 2004. During 2007, HPL's turnover was in excess of Rs 8,000 crore and clocked a net profit of Rs 581 crore.
Commenting on the debt-equity ratio of the company, the official said it had come down from 3.64 in March 2002 to less than one in November 2007. The official said that with such favourable debt-equity ratio, the company would be able to take loans at competitive rates of interest. After gaining a substantial market share in eastern region, HPL's products were also exported to countries like China, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Europe, US and Africa. Besides manufacturing of polymers, the company was also producing motor spirit (MS) as a by-product conforming to Euro III standards.
Source : The Hindu
17th December, 2007