Corporate Development     

Published: Feb 28, 2023
Updated: Feb 28, 2023

HLE Glascoat

On glass-lined equipment roll

HLE Glascoat is an NSE-BSE listed leading company engaged in the manufacturing of chemical process equipment. Its key product segment has been filtration and drying equipment. Its customers are spread across the agrochemicals, speciality chemicals, dyes and pigments, API and pharmaceutical industries.

LION’S SHARE

Interestingly, glass-lined equipment contributed Rs 396.71 crore to revenues during the first nine months in FY23 against Rs 186.93 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year, giving an impressive rise of 112.2%. Likewise, in the third quarter, this segment also reported growth of 69% yoy from Rs 79.55 crore to Rs 134.47 crore.

The company is in an absolute comfort zone in its order book. The Indian business has an order book of 5-6 months whereas European business orders stand at about 9 months.

CMD’S OUTLOOK

Commenting on the financial performance, Himanshu Patel, Chairman & Managing Director, said, “The Indian economy continues to be resilient despite the geopolitical uncertainties on account of the Russia-Ukraine war and emerging recessionary trends. This is also reflected in our business which saw a Q3 revenue from operations growth of 38% and PAT growth of 58%. We continue to see encouraging demand from clients, which is also reflected in our robust order book.”

Explaining the ease of the cost side pressure going forward, Mr Patel said that “we are now witnessing stability in the prices of key raw materials and we are monitoring this very closely. This will have a positive impact on our gross margins from the new business in the coming quarters. The company continues to work very closely with the Thaletec team and expects to further capitalize on the synergies going forward. We also continue to strengthen our strategic positioning through constant focus on innovation/R&D to offer differentiated solutions to our clients.”

HLE has purchased land admeasuring 1.30 lakh square metres near Anand, Gujarat, which is proposed to be utilized for setting up a new manufacturing plant for glass-lined equipment, whose plans are under consideration.

The company’s current equity capital is Rs 13.65 crore, wherein the promoter group holds 70.32% and the balance 29.68% is spread amongst 58,267 public shareholders.