India's JK Paper posts profit rises on strong demand

Andhra Paper

16/05/2023 13:55

BENGALURU, May 16 (Reuters) - India's JK Paper Ltd
 JKPA.NS  reported a roughly 65% rise in fourth-quarter profit
on Tuesday, helped by higher prices for its papers and packaging
boards and as some input costs eased.
    The company's consolidated net profit after tax climbed to
2.80 billion rupees ($34.2 million) in the quarter ended March
31, from 1.70 billion rupees a year earlier.
    JK Paper and other paper companies have benefited from
rising demand from offices as work-from-office slowly reverts to
the norm as well from e-commerce and other companies to
substitute plastic, especially after India banned single-use
plastics in mid-2022, for packaging and products such as
drinking cups.
    Earlier this month, Andhra Paper Ltd  ANDA.NS  said its
fourth-quarter profit more than doubled, while Tamil Nadu
Newsprint and Papers Ltd  TNNP.NS , West Coast Paper Mills Ltd
 WSTC.NS  and TCPL Packaging  TCPL.NS  are yet to report.
    The strong demand has also helped paper companies push up
their prices, helping their net sales realization, or NSR.
    "Higher volume coupled with increased realisation led to
better operating performance during the year," said JK Paper,
which has its own mills and has bought a majority stake in two
packaging companies last year.
    JK Paper's revenue from its paper and board business, its
only operating segment, clocked a growth of 28% to 17.04 billion
rupees.
    Its total costs rose nearly 26% in the fourth quarter, as
some inputs costs eased. The rise in its expenses has previously
slowed from 109% in the first quarter to about 40% in the third
quarter.
    Shares of JK Paper had fallen 6.7% during the quarter ended
March, and dipped 8.5% so far this year, compared with gains of
2.5% to 10.5% in the stocks of Andhra Paper, Tamil Nadu
Newsprint, West Coast Paper and TCPL.
 
 ($1 = 81.7800 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Navamya Ganesh Acharya in Bengaluru; Editing by
Savio D'Souza)
 ((Navamya.GaneshAcharya@thomsonreuters.com; +91 8805175330 ;))