PCBL held a conference call on 30 October 2024 to discuss the results for the quarter ended September 2024 and way forward. Mr. Kaushik Roy- Managing Director, Mr. Raj Gupta- CFO, Mr. Saket Sah- Head, Investor Relations and Mr. Pankaj Kedia- Vice President - Investor Relations of the company addressed the call.

Highlights of the Concall

• Consolidated revenue was up 45% YoY to Rs. 2163 crore in Q2FY25 from Rs. 1487 crore in Q2FY24 on the back of better realization, higher sales volume in the carbon black segment (rubber & speciality blacks) and revenue from recently acquired Aquapharm chemicals.

• Consolidated revenue increased by 52% in H1FY25 to Rs. 4307 crore from Rs. 2834 crore in H1FY24. Sales volume increased 19% to 3,02,610 tonnes in H1FY25. Consolidated EBITDA for H1FY25 was up 62% to Rs. 738 crore.

• Carbon black sales volume increased by 14% YoY to 1,48,693 tonne in Q2FY25 from 1,30,111 tonne in Q2FY24 supported by increased specialty volumes and higher PCBL (TN) plant utilisation. Specialty Black sales volume jumped 10% to 17,127 tonne in Q2FY25 as against 15,574 tonne in Q2FY24

• Sales mix between domestic and International stood at 90,219 tonne and 58,474 tonne during Q2FY25. Export sales volume registered a strong YoY growth of 22% in Q2FY25.

• Consolidated EBITDA was up 53% YoY to Rs.369 crore in Q2FY25 as against Rs.241 crore in Q2FY24. Consolidated EBITDA per tonne in carbon black business improved to Rs. 21,324/- during the quarter.

• Power generation increased by 25% from 167 MU in Q2FY24 to 209 MU during the quarter with an external sales volume of 126 MU as against 103 MU in Q2FY24. PCBL’s average realization stood at 3.56 per kWh.

• Net realization from power sales was Rs 3.56 per kWh during the quarter

• PCBL(TN) facility in Chennai has received approvals from major tyre manufacturers in India and capacity utilization remains above 80% during H1FY25. The sales volume for H1FY25 stood at 54,210 tonne.

• Aquapharm Chemicals reported a steady performance during the quarter. Q2FY25 revenue stood at Rs.362 crore and EBITDA stood at Rs.50 crore. The quarterly sales volume stood at 24,510 tonne. The company is implementing various cost optimization and operational efficiency measures which would result in better capacity utilization leading to improvement in company`s performance in the ensuing quarters.

• The company is amid an aggressive capacity expansion program in carbon black (rubber & specialty blacks) and water treatment, detergents and oil & gas chemicals business under Aquapharm.

• The carbon black capacity of the company stood at 7,70,000 tonne per annum (tpa). PCBL expects to commission the specialty project of 20,000 tpa capacity in Mundra and 30,000 tpa brownfield expansion of Carbon Black facility in PCBL(TN) in Q3FY25. The second phase of PCBL (TN) expansion of 60,000 tpa by H1FY26 would take the total installed capacity to 8,80,000 MTPA in FY26.

• Brownfield capacity expansion of 12 MW green power is being expedited and would take Green Power capacity to 134 MW next year.

• Specialty Blacks expansion of 20,000 tpa at Mundra would increase the specialty blacks capacity to 1,12,000 tpa in FY25.

• The company plans to reach capacity of 1 million tpa within next two years. Currently it is evaluating new sites for proposed greenfield capacity.

• Aquapharm Chemicals is implementing an expansion project of 38,000 tpa which is likely to be commissioned by March 2025.

• PCBL has executed a JV agreement with Kindia Pty Ltd. to form Nanovace Technologies Ltd. for developing nano-silicon products to be used in anodes of Li-Ion batteries. Nanovace is setting up a pilot plant which would be followed by a full-scale plant.

• PCBL is expecting significant growth in international sales volume to European markets. With planned capacity addition in TN facility, PCBL plans to ramp up global sales volume from FY26.

• Global freight cost remains elevated due to the Red Sea shipping situation. The company has been able to pass on the higher cost to customers.

• The Carbon black business continues to be on a strong growth trajectory and is well poised to capture the growth in the domestic and exports markets with new capacity additions, wide product suite and strong R&D capabilities. The company continues to invest in growth, innovation and supply chain capabilities.