Shares of Century Textiles and Industries Ltd. rose as much as 5 percent on Thursday after the management said that demand for writing and printing paper is likely to increase due to the ban on single-use plastic.
The management expects demand to rise despite cost pressures in the domestic market and price cuts taken by several paper mills.
Pulp & Paper is the company's core business, contributing to a majority of the overall sales. For the September quarter, sales for this particular business increased 37 percent from last year to Rs 942 crore. The segment's operating profit increased by nearly 70 percent.
For overall results, the company's net profit more than doubled on a consolidated basis to Rs 70 crore, from Rs 32 crore during the same period last year.
Net sales during the quarter stood at Rs 1,211 crore, 21.3 percent higher than Rs 998 crore seen a year ago. Consolidated EBITDA also jumped 42 percent to Rs 157.9 crore compared to Rs 96.4 crore in the year-ago quarter.
The management also attributed the growth in the paper and pulp business to cost reductions and timely price corrections.
Among the company's other businesses, the real estate business achieved a booking value of Rs 561 crore led by demand for quality housing.
However, the Textile business revenue declined 14 percent to Rs 224 crore. Capacity utilisation also fell to 86 percent from 91 percent during the same period last year. The demand for apparel fabric is stable while exports are severely impacted due to rising interest rates.
Shares of Century Textiles are trading 4 percent higher as of 12:10 PM at Rs 846.90.
(Edited by : Rukmani Krishna)
