Grasim results for the year ended March 31, 2018, have been impressive, with all-round growth both at the standalone and consolidated levels.
For FY18, the net revenue for Grasim’s viscose business stood at Rs. 8,376 crores, higher by 18%, and EBITDA by 17% at Rs. 1,680 crores, driven by higher sales volume and improved average realisations with higher domestic sales.
The VSF business reported its highest-ever sales volume of 508 KT in FY18, led by growth in the domestic market with intense market development efforts. The overall sales rose to 75% in FY18 from 69% in FY17. The number of LIVA-tagged garments witnessed a fair increase in the last 3 years to 30.25 million in FY18. More than 3,000 stores across the country are making LIVA-tagged garments available to customers.
The capacity debottlenecking at multiple plant locations is progressing well, with 44 KTPA of capacity coming on stream in May last. The recently announced brownfield capacity expansion plan at Vilayat is under implementation. Project related work has commenced in April.
The VSF business will continue to focus on expanding the market in India by partnering with the textile value chain, achieving better customer connect through brand LIVA and enriching the product mix through a larger share of specialty fibre. However, the new capacities likely to come on stream in China may impact the global VSF prices in the near term.