Balrampur Chini Q2 profit falls 22 pc, board okays Rs 320 cr-distillery unit

Balrampur Chini said the Maizapur unit will not be producing any sugar on commencement of the new distillery. According to the filing, the company net profit declined to Rs 78.30 crore in the second quarter of this fiscal from Rs 97.73 crore in the same quarter previous fiscal.

Balrampur Chini Mills, the country's second-largest sugar firm, on Wednesday posted a 22 per cent drop in its net profit at Rs 78.30 crore in the second quarter of the current fiscal on higher expenses. The company's board has approved setting up of a new distillery plant with capacity of 320 kilo litres per day (KLPD) at an investment of Rs 320 crore in the next two years, according to a regulatory filing.

"With the proposed addition, the total capacity will stand augmented to 840 KLPD," it said in the filing. The company said out of the total investment required, it would take loans to the tune of Rs 220 crore, while the rest Rs 100 crore from the internal accruals.

The new distillery will be set up at its Maizapur unit-II in Uttar Pradesh. It will produce ethanol directly from sugarcane syrup during the crushing season and from grains during off season, it said. Balrampur Chini said the Maizapur unit will not be producing any sugar on commencement of the new distillery.

According to the filing, the company net profit declined to Rs 78.30 crore in the second quarter of this fiscal from Rs 97.73 crore in the same quarter previous fiscal. Net income increased to Rs 1,294.36 crore in the July-September period of the 2020-21 fiscal from Rs 862.63 crore in the year-ago. But its expenses remained higher at Rs 1,199.25 crore as against Rs 743.87 crore in the said period.

Balrampur Chini has 10 sugar factories in Uttar Pradesh, having an aggregate crushing capacity of 76,500 tonnes per day. It has four distilleries..