The Trident Group has announced massive expansion of spinning capacity, and it will be investing Rs. 1,140 crores towards installation of 1,62,432 spindles and 3,600 rotors, including other balancing equipment, to manufacture about 48482 TPA of 100% cotton yarn at its existing plant in Budni, Madhya Pradesh.
Trident’s existing capacity is 5,43,744 spindles and 6,464 rotors, and the current capacity utilisation is 99%. The proposed project, expected to begin commercial production by January 2021, will help strengthen Trident’s existing home textile business and further expand its market presence.
During 2018-19, Trident achieved its highest-ever turnover of Rs. 5,265 crores, out of which the textile segment revenue was Rs. 4,222.9 crores compared to Rs. 3,720.9 crores in FY18. Trident has planned for maintenance capex at approximately Rs. 100 crores for FY20 and the same will be utilized towards small maintenance capex in the form of de-bottlenecking and upgradation of capacities.
Mr. Rajinder Gupta, Chairman at Trident Group, said: “The year gone by has been immensely fruitful for us as we accelerated work on our growth strategy while continually upgrading the business operating system to guide our financial and operational excellence. We foresee 2019 as another opportunity to fulfill our commitments through an exceptional performance while generating healthy return for our stakeholders. We will continue to create value and maintain Trident’s excellence-centric mindset to achieve even stronger and better results in the coming years”.
Trident Ltd. is the flagship company of the Trident Group, a $1 billion Indian business conglomerate and a global player. Headquartered in Ludhiana, Punjab, Trident Ltd. is vertically integrated textile (yarn, bath & bed linen) and paper (wheat straw-based) manufacturer and is one of the largest players in the home textile space in India. Supplying national, captive, and retailer-owned brands, the organization is highly decorated with awards from its customers, vendors, and various Government entities in recognition of advancing the highest standards in product quality, social responsibility, and environmental stewardship.
Home textile outlook
The unfavorable circumstances of FY 2018 have been left behind and the Home Textile business has made substantial recovery and registered growth in FY 2019. Trident believes that India will continue to hold competitive advantage as the industry is characterized by high entry barriers in terms of scale, capital availability, skilled labor, customer relationships, sustainability as well as availability of raw material, thereby maintaining quality standards which is one of the key parameters for growth in the segment. Accelerated growth, higher spending power with customers in the US and currency support will help the company deliver better results going forward.
As per OTEXA data, India’s share has remained the same in cotton sheets and terry towel in the current year as compared to last year. But if we compare it over the last five years, India’s share of Towel and Sheeting business both has been growing. The impact of the trade war between the US and China has also become evident through OTEXA M-o-M data across home textile categories in FY 2019 as imports by the US from China from January 19 to March 19 are showing a declining trend.
India has emerged not only the largest producer of raw cotton but also a major cotton surplus & cotton exporting country in the recent years. This gives a distinct advantage to Indian home textile manufacturers. Home textile companies which have invested in technology and systems are bound to consolidate and grow, leveraging their capabilities with cost-efficient manufacturing and strong market presence.
Trident will further consolidate its business by leveraging the existing customers and adding new customers to its portfolio.