 "Copper producers face uneven playing field")
State-run Hindustan Copper is looking to achieve a turnover of Rs 100 billion by financial year 2023-24 through capacity expansion, a top company official said.
The company earlier this month had also announced its plans to spend Rs 55 billion to expand its production capacity by six times from 3.6 million tonne per annum (mtpa) at present to 20 mtpa by FY24.
"We aim to achieve a turnover of Rs 100 billion by FY24 through capacity expansion," Hindustan Copper chairman and managing director Santosh Sharma told reporters here.
The company had clocked a turnover of Rs 17 billion in FY18, which will be increased to Rs 3,000 by FY20 and to Rs 100 billion by FY24 following completion of the expansion plans, he said.
Of the Rs 55 billion planned capex, around 50 per cent will be funded through internal accruals, Rs 12 billion through equity and the remaining through debt over a period of six years, according to Sharma.
Hindustan Copper at present meets 4 per cent of the country's copper requirement, and Sharma said the Rs 3 billion Gujarat copper project will soon become operational and add 50,000 tpa capacity by March next year.
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Earlier this month, the government approved a fresh equity issue of 15 per cent by HCL to fund capex plan. Consequently, government's shareholding in HCL will come down from 76.05 per cent to 66.13 per cent.
Commenting on mines expansion plan, Sharma said, the company has reopened two mines in Jharkhand and Rajasthan and is looking to open more mines in near future, which will provide direct employment to 9,300 people.
"The company's mine expansion will further gain momentum as major tenders for mine construction and production is expected to be floated soon," he added.
Meanwhile, Hindustan Copper posted around three-fold rise in profit at Rs 35.21 crore for June quarter. Its net sales stood at Rs 3.97 billion, while the EBDITA margin was at 29 per cent.
The company's shares ended 1.25 per cent up at Rs 64.65 apiece on the BSE today, against 0.41 per cent decline in the benchmark.
