CenturyPly to pump in Rs 200cr to expand MDF capacity; Q3 profit jumps

Century Plyboards India onTuesday said it will pump in Rs 200 crore to expand the mediumdensity fiber MDF board unit located at Hoshiarpur inPunjab, following rising demand in domestic and internationalmarkets.After the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for furniture hasjumped sharply. MDF requirement is also robust.

Century Plyboards India onTuesday said it will pump in Rs 200 crore to expand the mediumdensity fiber (MDF) board unit located at Hoshiarpur inPunjab, following rising demand in domestic and internationalmarkets.

''After the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for furniture hasjumped sharply. MDF requirement is also robust. The existingoperating capacity of the plant is 600 cbm per day, which isexpected to be 1,000 cbm after the expansion,'' CenturyPlyboards MD Sanjay Agarwal told PTI.

''We are aiming to commission the expanded capacitywithin a year,'' he added.

Meanwhile, the company reported a huge rise inconsolidated net profit to Rs 65.79 crore during the quarterended December as against a profit of Rs 37 lakh in thecorresponding period a year ago.

Revived market conditions, affordable commodity pricesand better sales volume have led to significant marginimprovement, it said.

''This has been the best quarter in our company'shistory. All of our product divisions including plywood, MDF,particle boards have performed well.

''This quarter is the beginning of the economicrecovery, and we are optimistic that we will be able to buildon this performance and improve it in the near future,''Chairman Sajjan Bhajanka said.

Century Plyboards also said its board has approved aproposal to acquire 39.94 per cent equity of subsidiarycompany Century Infotech Ltd, following which it would becomea wholly-owned subsidiary.