Kesoram Industries, the BK Birla Group company involved in the manufacturing of cement to tyres and rayon intends to complete the entire refinancing process of its Rs 1,650 crore debt by March 2023.

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In an interaction with CNBC-TV18, Kesoram's whole-time director and CEO P Radhakrishnan said that the key to the company's balance sheet is refinancing. "If this is (entire refinancing) not done by March, at least it should be tied up and the transaction gets executed in the first quarter of the next financial year," he said.

Radhakrishnan also warned that in case the refinancing process is not complete by the first quarter of the financial year 2024, it will not be good for the company's balance sheet.

In case the process is completed, the revised rate will will come down to 10-11 percent from the existing 19 percent.

Radhakrishnan emphasized the need for refinancing as the entire debt matures by financial year 2025-2026. The company is aiming for debt to be at Rs 1,200 crore by the end of the next financial year.

The liquidity crunch has led to speculation that the company is on the block. However, Radhakrishnan denied the news, saying that neither has the company been approached for a takeover, nor have they approached an investor or a larger peer for the same.

In the December quarter, Kesoram Industries reported a net loss of Rs 48 crore, which was wider than the Rs 32 crore loss it reported during the same period last year. The loss was also led by an exceptional item of Rs 173 crore, pertaining to loss on re-measurement of property, which is proposed to be disposed. There was also a tax credit of Rs 163 crore during the quarter.

The company has further revised its volume guidance lower for the full year to 7.2 MT from 7.5 MT earlier. The latter was also a revised number from 8 MT earlier.

Kesoram reported an EBITDA per tonne of Rs 480 during the December quarter, which Radhakrishnan expects to reach Rs 550-600 during the March quarter. "Even as costs are cooling off, the realisation per tonne is flat and prices have to go up," he said.

Lastly, Radhakrishnan said that cement demand has been good and the company is attempting to hike prices by Rs 5-10 per bag. "In some markets it is getting absorbed, in some markets it isn't," he said.

(Edited by : Hormaz Fatakia)

First Published:Jan 18, 2023 7:44 AM IST