TCC nets record ₹32-crore profit

The public sector Travancore Cochin Chemicals (TCC) has netted a record ₹32-crore profit in the 2017-18 fiscal.

“It is a major achievement for a company, which was running on an accumulated loss of nearly ₹25 crore two years ago. In 2016-17, we had netted a profit of ₹6 crore and increased it to ₹32 crore in 2017-18. The turnover for the last fiscal was ₹241 crore,” said TCC Managing Director K. Harikumar on Wednesday.

Stating that the company has drawn up a plan for consolidating its gains, Mr. Harikumar said the first phase of the proposed plan to enhance caustic soda production from the present 175 tonnes to 250 tonnes a day would be completed in 18 months. The ₹50 crore capacity expansion plan would be met through internal accruals and bank loan. The company has also proposed raising the capacity from 250 tonnes to 350 tonnes per day in the second phase, which would happen in three to four years, he said.

When completed, the expansion of capacity will take the total turnover of the company to about ₹600 crore a year.

The installed capacity for caustic soda production is 57,750 tonnes and the level of production is around 61,000 tonnes.

For the first time, the company started exporting caustic soda to African countries from November last. Mr. Harikumar said the earnings from export were about ₹2.4 crore in 2017-18.

Stating that TCC’s record achievement was the cumulative effect of various factors including maximising production and better marketing, the managing director pointed out that the availability of electricity at competitive rates was another reason for the company’s improved performance. The government intervention helped the company to have open access to electricity.