HPC poised to achieve Rs 3000 crore sales turnover by 2012

Kolkata, Sep 10 (UNI) The Hindustan Ppaper Corporation is poised to achieve a sales turnover of Rs 3,000 crore by 2012 with installed capacity for producing over 800,000 ton paper/newsprint per year.

According to an HPC release here, the HPC recently paid Rs 25.20 crore to the Union Government towards dividend for financial year 2006-07.

The cheque was presented to Union Minister for Heavy Industries Santosh Mohan Dev by company Chairman Raji Philip.

Another cheque of Rs 45 lakh, collected from the employees, was given to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund.

HPC operates three large integrated mills - two in Assam - Nagaon Paper Mill and Chachar paper mill - and one Hindustan Newsprint ltd in Kerala, having an annual installed production capacity of 100,000 ton.

In the last fiscal HPC's operating mills produced 3,20,880 ton, exceding 100 per cent capacity for the fifth time in succession.

Cachar Paper Mill located in the infrastructurally deficient and logistically difficult Barak valley could improve capacity utilisation to an all-time high of 103.2 per cent.

The sales registered was 323.302 ton -- 210,737 tonne of printing and writing paper and 112,565 ton of newsprint.

The HPC group registered an all-time high sales turnover of Rs 1,101 crore with units in Assam accounting for Rs 786 crore and HNL for Rs 315 crore against the previous best of Rs 1,045 crore.

The HPC units registered an all time high profit Before Tax (PBT) of Rs 121 crore and a Profit After Tax (PAT) of Rs 81 crore with the wholly owned subsidiary HNL showing a PBT of Rs 45 crore and a PAT of Rs 30 crore.

The group continued to maintain its ranking as the third largest formation in the Indian paper industry after BILT and ITC's paper divisions.

HPC was also spearheading the revival and upgradation scheme covering the Nagaland Pulp&paper Company Ltd, Tuli, which had remained inoperative since October, 1992, with the BIFR sanctioning the rehabilitation package based on the Union Cabinet approval.

The NPCC's revival and upgradation scheme was taken from June 27, 2007 and expected to be completed by September, 2009.

In a spectacular turnover in operational and financial performance, the HPC had paid its maiden dividend of Rs 15.20 crore for the fiscal 2005-06 after wiping out all accumulated losses on the strength of a decade-long track-record of uninterrupted net profit.

UNI