The Rs 650-crore carbon black industry has received a jolt in the latest budget.
The 1997 budget has reduced customs duty on carbon black to 25 per cent (ex-Korea) from 30 per cent.
For other countries, the duty has been cut to 30 per cent from 40 per cent.
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With this, Korean carbon black has become cheaper than the domestic one and industry circles fear large-scale dumping of the Korean material.
The industry imports about 85 per cent of carbon black
feedstock because of its non-availability in the domestic market.
A major anomaly is that the duty on carbon black feedstock, a major raw material for the carbon black industry, has remained unchanged at 30 per cent since 1994.
The tyre industry, the main user of carbon black, may go in for import of cheaper carbon black that is better in quality as well.
This may put the indigenous industry in a tight spot.
Besides, high import duty on carbon feedstock may add to the cost of production, which in turn will affect profitability of the carbon black majors.
The cut in import duty on carbon black may force a reduction in domestic prices.
This may result in reduced sales price realisation.
The growth of the industry is mainly based on the growth of the tyre sector, which accounts for 65 per cent of total carbon black offtake.
Of this, truck/bus tyres account for 70 per cent, while the non-tyre sector such as cycle tyre, conveyor belts, miscellaneous rubber goods account for the rest.
Phillips Carbon Black, which has taken over Carbon & Chemicals and Gujarat Carbon, dominates the domestic market with a 40 per cent share, followed by Hi Tech Carbon with 23 per cent, Cabot India 18 per cent, Oriental Carbon & Chemicals 12 per cent and Ralson Carbon 7 per cent.
In 1996-97, the installed capacity of the industry rose by 11.6 per cent to 3.08 lakh metric tonnes (mt) (2.76 lakh mt)Philips Carbon Black with 80,000 mt, Carbon & Chemicals 40,000 mt, Gujarat Carbon 35,000 mt, Hi Tech Carbon 60,000 mt, Cabot India 40,000 mt, Oriental Carbon & Chemicals 35,000 mt and Ralson Carbon 18,000 mt.
After the implementation of expansion plans of these firms, the installed capacity will touch 3.8 lakh mt by 1999-2000.
Though there is an excess capacity, the industry expects exports to increase to take up some of the excess capacity.
The estimated production for 1996-97 at 2.48 lakh mt shows an increase of 9.9 per cent over 2.26 lakh mt in the last year. Sales for 1996-97 are estimated around 2.41 lakh mt, of which domestic sales account for 2.05 lakh mt, deemed export 14500 mt and export 21,500 mt.
The industry is flush with surplus capacity of about 51,000 tonnes as the present installed capacity of the seven majors is around 3.08 lakh tonnes as against the current estimated demand of 2.57 lakh tonnes, including the estimated import of 16,000 mt.
The industry may face high inventories if the market does not pick up as expected.
And cheaper imports may add to their woes.
During the six months ended September 1996, the carbon black industry reported good results. However, during the next two years, the profitability is not likely to sustain at the current level.
This is because an increase in the crude price has led to a rise in feedstock cost, eroding their profitability.
Besides, the anomaly in the duty structure in the 1997 budget has further worsened the situation.
During the six months ended September 1996, the four major carbon black companies reported good results.
Sales income of these companies rose by 56.9 per cent to Rs 302 crore (Rs 193 crore). Carbon & Chemicals and Phillips Carbon Black exceeded the average growth of sales.
The operating profit of the four companies increased by 53.9 per cent to Rs 63.1 core (Rs 41 crore), while gross profit rose to Rs 41.7 crore (Rs 17.9 crore), up 133.2 per cent. Cabot India, which has overstepped the average growth of operating profit, attributes the increase in gross profit mainly to a healthy rise in volumes, optimal market mix, lower interest cost and improved pricing that more than offset higher raw material and manufacturing cost. Net profit of the four companies went up by 160 per cent to Rs 34 crore (Rs 13.1 crore).
During the six months ended September 1996, their operating profit margin declined to 20.9 per cent (21.3 per cent), reflecting an increase in the raw material and manufacturing cost.
Cabot India managed to improve the operating profit margin to 25.6 per cent (14.9 per cent).
Yet, gross profit margin of the four companies grew to 13.8 per cent (9.3 per cent) and net profit margin to 11.3 per cent (6.8 per cent).
The import of carbon black per month rose from 160 mt in April 1996 to 2568 mt in February 1997.
According to the Association of the Carbon Black Manufacturers (ACBM), this is due to increased availability of the same in the international market.
With the commissioning of 1 lakh mt export oriented Kumho plant in South Korea in February 1997, the availability is set to improve further.
The carbon black industry imports about 85 per cent carbon black feedstock since the quality is better than that of the indigenous material.
Sulphur content in the imported variety varies between 2 and 2.5 per cent whereas the indigenous feedstock, mostly available from the oil refineries, has higher sulphur content of up to 4.5 per cent.
The main problem of the industry is that duty on carbon black feedstock is high compared with carbon black.
In Asean countries, the duty on carbon black is much more than on feedstock.
The Association of the Carbon Black Manufacturers feels there is a need for 20 per cent cut in the duty of carbon black feedstock which will offset a 10 per cent change in carbon black.
According to it, a 10 per cent reduction in the duty on carbon black feedstock would give the industry only Rs 18 crore, which would result in a modest profit before tax of about 3.5 per cent on a capital employed of Rs 500 crore.
Otherwise, the industry will suffer since it may have to reduce domestic prices to keep them on a par with global prices.
If they do so, their profitability will suffer.
Of late, the international prices of carbon black have declined.
The CIF value of carbon black has slipped from about $600 per mt to $550 per mt in the course of the current year.
The prices may decline further as there is surplus capacity.
The prices of three grades of carbon blackN220, N330 and N660were around Rs 33,550, Rs 29,750 and Rs 27,690 per tonne respectively as of April 1, 1996. According to the ACBM, there has been no revision in the basic ex-plant prices of carbon black manufacturers since April 1996.
However, there may be a slide in the prices in the next couple of weeks because of a 10 per cent reduction in the import duty on carbon black.
Thiri PoSaw, secretary general of ACBM, says, We have a good modernised growth industry, and our prices have matched the imported landed cost. The 1997 budget has reduced the carbon black import duty by 10 per to 30 per cent and we must match this right away at a heavy cost. Why this unjust anomaly of retaining the duty on feedstock at 30 per cent since 1994?
It should be brought down to 10 per cent so that we may continue to be healthy, in order to serve the Indian rubber industry.
The automobile sector, which suffered a slack demand recently, may improve in the near future spurred by a rise in demand from the middle class.
This is likely to stimulate production of light and heavy vehicles.
This, in turn, will push the demand for tyres.
With a brisk pick-up in the tyre sector, demand for carbon black will increase by 8 per cent to 10 per cent per annum in the domestic market because the tyre industry is the major consumer.