Grasim to invest Rs 3,117 crore on its existing businesses in FY23: Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla

Grasim Industries, the flagship company of Aditya Birla Group, would invest Rs 3,117 crore on its existing businesses in FY23, its Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla said on Monday.

This investment would be towards capacity creation and modernisation of plants.

"For FY23, your company has earmarked Rs 3,117 crore for the existing lines of businesses excluding the paints and B2B e-commerce business," said Birla while addressing shareholders of the company.

About the company's "strategic foray" into paints and B2B e-commerce, he said these are decisive steps for a strong growth.

"Both paints and B2B E-commerce businesses complement the existing lines of business within the Grasim umbrella. They cater to a large market, offer access to new customer pools, and hold the promise of creating sustained stakeholder value," he said.

The company's board has already approved a total capex of Rs 10,000 crore for the paints business, out of which Rs 605 crore has been spent till FY22, he said.

"Additionally, the company has earmarked Rs 2,000 crore for the B2B e-commerce business," Birla added.

In July this year, Grasim announced its entry into B2B e-commerce platform for the building material segment with an investment of Rs 2,000 crore over the next five years. This platform will be operated by a newly recruited leadership team from the digital ecosystem, it had said.

In FY22, Grasim spent a total capex of Rs 1,958 crore, Birla said. Consolidated revenue for the year was Rs 95,701 crore, up 25 per cent year-on-year.

About the paint business, Birla said it is on track to meet the timelines for commissioning of the plant starting from Q4 of FY24.

"We have accelerated our pace of investments in the paints business by doubling the capital expenditure commitment to Rs 10,000 crore," said Birla.

The paint business has obtained land possession at all its six sites, and the civil construction work has commenced at four sites, he said.

For its VSF (viscose staple fibre) business, Grasim has set an ambitious target to achieve net-zero carbon emissions across all its operations by 2040.

"Witnessing a strong demand in the advanced materials (epoxy) business, your company has decided to double its capacity to 246 KTPA by FY25," he added.

On Grasim's subsidiary UltraTech Cement, Birla said the sector will witness increased spending on housing and infrastructure and it is committed to meeting the future demands.

Grasim Industries is a diversified player with a presence across sectors. It is a leading global producer of VSF, the largest chlor-alkali, linen and insulators player in India.

Through its subsidiaries, UltraTech Cement and Aditya Birla Capital, it is also India's largest cement producer and a leading diversified financial services player.