Kamdhenu Ispat to invest Rs 50-cr on capacity expansion

Kamdhenu Ispat, which is into the manufacturing and marketing of TMT bars and decorative paints, will invest up to Rs 50 crore for increasing steel making capacity of its Rajasthan plant to 72,000 tonnes.
The steel bar producer, which has manufacturing plant in Bhiwadi district, expects to make the investment by the end of this financial year.
"We are in the process of modernisation and upgradation of our manufacturing unit in Rajasthan to raise the capacity from 60,000 tonnes to 72,000 tonnes and will invest Rs 40-50 crore for this. It is expected to be completed by March 2016," Kamdhenu Ispat Chairman and MD Satish Kumar Agarwal told PTI.

Under the modernisation programme, the company is also working on putting in place better energy conservation mechanisms that will help in cost optimisation, he added.
Since 2000, the BSE-listed firm has been bringing under its fold small steel manufacturing units as its franchises, which has helped the company expand its brand presence and consumer reach.
"Today we have 51 franchise units across the country who make Kamdhenu steel products. We identify and select units through strict quality control checks and then provide them technical upgrades as well as our vast dealer network," Agwarwal explained.

The installed steel capacity of the company's franchise units in around 20 lakh tonnes, which Kamdhenu Ispat has targeted to increase to 24 lakh tonnes by end 2015-16 fiscal, he said.

"The total turnover, which includes the 51 franchise, is about Rs 6,000 crore," Agarwal said.
For the fiscal ended March 31, 2015, Kamdhenu posted a standalone net profit of Rs 8 crore against a net profit of Rs 5.95 crore in 2013-14. Its standalone net sales stood at Rs 968 crore from Rs 921.7 crore during the same period.
On outlook, Agarwal said: "Last year and this year so far, there is no growth in the infrastructure sector. But, we expect that government planning will help demand to grow by about 20 per cent in the second half of this fiscal."

He added that 2016-17 fiscal, which begins from April 2016, will see "very good" demand on the back of clearance of various infra projects especially government projects such as smart cities that will pump up the demand.