Uflex posts 12 per cent hike in revenue in Q4FY18

Packaging major Uflex announced a quality performance for FY18 on Tuesday, May 29, 2018. The company’s consolidated total revenue soared 12 per cent to Rs 1815.6 crore for the fourth quarter on a yearly basis. 

In an exclusive interview with Dalal Street Investment Journal, the company’s Global CFO, Rajesh Bhatia said, “The packaging industry has registered a double digit growth. The industry is growing at a pace of about 10 to 11 per cent and placed as a market leader, Uflex's revenue and volume have also witnessed notable growth in FY18.”    

However, despite the revenue and volume growth, the net profit of the company declined by 27 per cent for the fiscal year 2018. Remarking on the following, Bhatia clarified, “The commissioning of Sanand plant during the year, left an impact of six months. Even as the volume is steadily ramping up, the operating cost, interest and depreciation has come to hit the balance sheet. However, even after the impact of the unit’s operating cost, the EBITDA level has remained the same, which shows that the company is able to absorb the operating cost.”        

In the current fiscal, the company is expecting to do about 1.5 to 2 billion packs at its newly commissioned ascetic packaging plant at Sanand, Gujarat. Divulging on the outlook for the segment, Bhatia said, “We are already supplying to 15 customers and there are 10 more customers who are going through various phases of product approval and negotiations. The product itself is growing by about 20 per cent, thus, even if we do not outplace any competitor, the additional market itself will provide us with enormous opportunities to grow, as the demand from juice, alcohol, dairy and other manufacturers is consistently increasing.”

Bhatia further attributed the company’s immersive devotion towards research and development as the main force behind its growth. While, on the issue of plastic ban, he affirmed that the flexible packaging industry has not been affected by the ban. He further added, “We have been pioneers in setting up a recycling unit way back in 90s in Noida and the industry is moving towards becoming more environmentally friendly.”

In Tuesday’s trade, the company surged to an intraday high of Rs. 334.80 per share and ended at Rs. 316.55 per share, up by 10.51 per cent on BSE.