Deepak Nitrite Q2 net profit jumps by 111%

Revenues grew by 16% from Rs 315 crore to Rs 364 crore in the just-concluded quarter

Spurred on by healthy growth in Bulk Chemicals and Commodities (BCC) and Fluorescent Whitening Agent (FWA) segments, Vadodara-based chemical manufacturer Deepak Nitrite Limited (DNL) on Friday reported a 111 per cent growth in net profit for the second quarter of 2014-15.

DNL posted net profit of Rs  15.81 crore for the September-ended quarter, an increase of 111 per cent compared to Rs  7.48 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, the company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in a filing on Friday. Net profit for the first half of the current fiscal rose by 129 per cent to Rs  25.48 crore from Rs  11.12 crore in the first half of the last fiscal.

Revenues grew by 16 per cent from Rs  315 crore in the second quarter of 2013-14 to Rs  364 crore in the just-concluded quarter.

The BCC and FWA segments registered 18 per cent and 80 per cent growth respectively.

Strong demand in domestic markets resulted in rise in domestic revenues by 17 per cent on a year-on-year basis from Rs  352.73 crore in the first half of the last fiscal to Rs  413.38 crore in the first half of current fiscal.

Revenues from exports were Rs  266.42 crore in the first half of the current fiscal, registering 23 per cent growth compared to Rs  216.17 crore in the first half of the last fiscal.

Commenting on the results, Deepak Mehta, vice-chairman and managing director, said, “We are pleased to report continued momentum in the business with revenues in the first half of this fiscal growing by 20 per cent on a year-on-year basis. The BCC and FWA segments have been key contributors to the performance. Higher realisations in select products have helped to elevate the profitability profile.”

Mehta added that the company was focussed on increasing the capacity utilisation at the Dahej plant to cater to the domestic and export markets.

On the proposed Rs  1,200 crore phenol and acetone plant, which was announced in the last quarter, he said, “We have made progress on our growth plans, especially the phenol and acetone project announced by us last quarter. The technology agreement with Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) of USA has been executed. We intend to execute this project in a steady and calibrated manner to enable continued growth.”

The capacity of the proposed phenol plant, which will be located at Dahej in Bharuch district, will be 200,000 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) and that of co-product acetone will be 120,000 MTPA.

A wholly owned subsidiary, Deepak Phenolics Limited, has been set up for this purpose.

Deepak Nitrite manufactures Bulk Chemicals and Commodities (BCC), Fine and Speciality Chemicals (FSC) and Fluorescent Whitening Agents (FWA) and has manufacturing facilities at Nandesari in Vadodara and Dahej in Bharuch in Gujarat, Roha and Taloja in Maharashtra, and at Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh.