India’s largest Biofuel technology company, Praj Industries is in focus on the back of its Q3 earnings, where profits in Q3 grew to`37 cr up 32% on a yearly basis and revenues grew 69% to `585.6 cr. Margins contracted to 8.7% vs 11% from Q3 last year. The consolidated order backlog as on December 31, 2021 stood at `2,605 cr which comprised 80% domestic orders and 20% international orders. ET NOW spoke to Shishir Joshipura, CEO & MD, Praj Industries who said that the pandemic has impacted the business environment, but the company is seeing significant growth in the order book for their international business.
The company’s primary raw material is steel- and owing to the global shortage due to lack of supply from Chinese steel makers, steel prices have risen but Mr. Joshipura said they have seen a moderation in commodity prices over the past few months. The company has is working on many other technologies besides Ethanol and CBG, namely bioplastics and Lignin based Bitumen. “Will keep using tech as a lever to drive growth and will use tech expertise to create several value-added streams,” said Mr. Joshipura.
Analysts remain bullish on Praj Industries which has been a wealth creator over the last year. They believe the company’s; leadership in biofuel technology is positive and the continuously improving order pipeline helps the company remain in a sweet spot while the earnings performance holds testimony to its performance. Mr Joshipura believes that Ethanol contributes a significant part to the order book and more capacities will be built. “Decarbonisation is an important theme that the company is focussed on and we are addressing reduction in carbon footprint actively. We also see growth from Renewable Chemical Materials and ethanol will be a building block for renewable chemicals,” he said.
