Gujarat NRE Coke Ltd (GNCL), an independent producer of low ash metallurgical coke, plans to set up two greenfield plants — one each in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh —with a production capacity of 1 million tonne.
The investment in these two projects is estimated to be Rs 150-200 crore, said sources privy to the development. Gujarat NRE has also chalked out an investment of Rs 536 crore for its Australia and India operations.
“The demand for coke was buoyant in the first half of 2009 in the country. Shortage of coking coal is adding to the pressure in the market. We plan to increase our capacity further by setting up two greenfield plants of 1 million tonne each in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat to take advantage of this ever yawning gap in demand and supply of coke,” said Arun Kumar Jagatramka, chairman and managing director, GNCL.
The company’s expansion at Dharwad in Karnataka is nearing completion. This would provide the company extra leverage of enhanced capacity to meet the increasing demand for coke in India.
“Though the current recession had its impact on the consumption of coke in the global market, the domestic scenario has been improving due to increased consumption levels, which augurs well for merchant manufacturers of met coke in India,” he added.
After posting a loss of Rs 103.18 crore during the quarter ended June 30, 2008, GNCL registered a net profit of Rs 3.64 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal.
The company registered a 45 per cent increase in turnover during the quarter under review. As per the unaudited financial results, total income stood at Rs 310.04 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2009, as compared with Rs 214.58 crore in the corresponding period previous year.