Nava shares drop 5% after production halted for two months at Odisha unit

Shares of ferro alloys manufacturer Nava Ltd dropped 5 per cent after the company disclosed that production has been suspended temporarily at its silico manganese plant in Odisha following the damage caused by an accident.

The company, which was formerly known as Nava Bharat Ventures, informed bourses on Wednesday that the ferro-alloys plant’s raw material handling system suffered damage in an accident. This caused the plant’s raw material feeding system along with other associated infrastructure to be affected leading to a halt in production while repairs were being carried out.

In the accident, there was no harm caused to human life or any injuries reported among the workforce, the company said. Nava has stated that it has insurance coverage for material damage and business interruption.

Odisha Plant produces silico manganese

The affected plant produces 4,000 metric tonnes of silico manganese each month, which is expected to be impacted. The consumption of power of about 20 MW from the captive power plant has also been affected, the company added. Nava added that full production and power consumption will be back on track after two months.

The company produces ferro-alloys like manganese based alloys and then supplies them to companies in regions like the Middle East, East Asia and Europe as well as to domestic consumers in India. Apart from its plant in Odisha, Nava also produces silico manganese from Andhra Pradesh’s Paloncha. The unit at Paloncha has a production capacity of up to 125,000 tons of silico manganese every year.

Shares of the company dropped more than 5 per cent on Thursday following the disclosure about the production halt at Odisha plant. The company’s stock was trading at Rs 385.35 apiece, down 5.31 per cent, on BSE at 3:09 PM.