By Suhani Adilabadkar

Confronted by cheap imports, high cost of raw material  and cost of production, the paper industry has nevertheless managed to report strong revenues overall in the June quarter FY19. JK Paper announced growth both YoY and QoQ,  rising 25.6% in revenue and 58.3% in net profit YoY. West Coast Paper reported 19% revenue growth YoY, and a 56.5% rise in net profits. Sequential revenue however fell by 6.8%.

Some of the smaller companies in this industry have seen significant leaps - South Indian Paper Mills, which currently tops the industry chart in growth numbers, has grown 200% and reversed its quarterly loss of Rs. 45 mn into Net Profit of Rs. 47 mn in the June quarter FY19.

Pudumjee Paper Products was more mixed. It reported strong quarterly growth of 35% whereas as on yearly basis, the company de-grew by 14% YOY. Dolly Khanna owned Ruchira Papers delivered a disappointment, falling in both net profits and revenue YoY. 

 Seshasayee Paper & Boards reported strong yearly growth for revenue and PAT at 24% and 15% respectively but sequential performance shrunk by double digits in the June quarter.  Overall, there is a lot of green to celebrate in the industry. Though impacted by digitalization, it has high growth prospects with the growth of FMCG packaging industry & the prospective plastic ban gaining ground across states. For the result dashboard for paper, click here.