Solar Industries India Q4 net up 20% to Rs 48.22 cr

Industrial explosives manufacturer Solar Industries India (SII) today reported a 20.24 per cent increase in net profit for the March quarter at Rs 48.22 crore on the back of higher sales.
The company had reported a net profit of Rs 40.10 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.
Its sales for the January-March period increased to Rs 465.53 crore from Rs 418.88 crore a year-ago, registering a growth of 11.14 per cent.
"The growth in sales was driven by demand from state-run Coal India and exports," company's Chief Financial Officer Nilesh Panpalliya told PTI.
During the year, the Nagpur-headquartered company reported total sales of Rs 1,658.23 and net profit of Rs 166.14 crore compared to Rs 1,456.46 crore and Rs 147.41 crore, respectively in the corresponding quarter of FY15.

"The sales have improved, but it could have been higher. Devaluation of currency in Nigeria, Zambia and Turkey was one of the reason for lower numbers," he said.

Panpalliya also said the company expects to get more orders from the defence sector.
"We already have nearly Rs 73 crore worth orders in our defence business for HMX and its compounds, propellant, pyrotechnics and warheads from various ordnance factories.
"In 2015-16, we reported revenues of around Rs 8 crore in this business. The current order book gives us a visibility of around Rs 80 crore revenue this fiscal," he added.
The company entered into the defence sector four years ago and has set up country's first HMX plant in private sector, a large composite propellant plant and facilities for producing various other products like pyros and war heads.

SII plans to start commercial production in South Africa where it will manufacture bulk explosives and cartridges among other with a total capacity of 30,000 metric tonne. The company has invested USD 7 million in the facility.