PCBL mulls greenfield sites under current CB expansion plan

KOLKATA, India—PCBL (formerly Phillips Carbon Black Ltd.) is evaluating sites for new carbon black capacity, according to the manufacturer's management team.

Greenfield expansion would enable PCBL to reach total production capacity of 1 million metric tons per year within three years, executives told investment analysts on an Oct. 30 earnings call.

Currently, the Indian group's carbon black production capacity stands at 770,000 tons, consisting of both specialty and rubber carbon black products.

PCBL expects to commission a 20,000-ton specialty project in Mundra and a 30,000-ton brownfield expansion in Tamil Nadu in the third quarter of its full fiscal year, ending March 31, 2025.

Furthermore, a second phase 60,000-ton expansion in Tamil Nadu will bring the total installed capacity of the group to 880,000 tons in fiscal 2026, PCBL Managing Director Kaushik Roy said.

Phase I of the Tamil Nadu project in southern India has the nameplate production capacity of 63,000 tons and was commissioned in April 2023.

Upon completion of all phases, the plant will have a production capacity of 147,000 tons per year, supported by 24 megawatts of "green" power.

"We aim to reach 1 million tons (of) capacity in carbon black by fiscal year 2027–2028," Roy said, adding that "possibly we will (beat) this target."

Stating that PCBL is currently evaluating sites for the proposed greenfield capacity, Roy said the added volume would help to "significantly increase our global market share."

PCBL's carbon black business continues "to be on a strong growth trajectory and poised to capture growth in both domestic and export markets," he said. "We expect significant growth in international sales volume to European markets."

Over the quarter ended Sept. 30, PCBL reported that carbon black sales volumes grew by 14 percent year-on-year to 148,000 tons.

Total carbon black-related revenue contributed significantly to a 45-percent year-on-year increase in consolidated revenue which stood at about $249 million (INR 21 billion).

Total sales volume comprised domestic sales recorded at 90,219 tons, while exports saw a strong 22-percent year-on-year growth to 58,474 tons.

Of the total, 82,383 tons were consumed by the tire industry, while shipments to the performance chemicals sector stood at 49,183 tons.