Date:07/08/2008 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2008/08/07/stories/2008080751210300.htm

Back Manaksia Group setting up subsidiary in Mauritius

Ambar Singh Roy

Kolkata, Aug. 6 The Kolkata-based Manaksia Group is incorporating a subsidiary company in Mauritius and “step-down” subsidiaries in other countries for consolidation of its holdings in various projects in countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, Georgia and Dubai. The subsidiary company in Mauritius will be named Manaksia Global Ltd.

The Kolkata-headquartered Manaksia Group is India’s largest secondary producer of value-added aluminium rolled products with 15 manufacturing facilities in the country and three abroad.

Nigerian facility

Through its Nigeria-based subsidiary MINL, the Manaksia Group is investing $ 35 million in a facility that will produce 2,00,000 tonnes a year of steel rebars for the construction industry in Nigeria, Mr B.K. Agrawal, Managing Director of Manaksia Ltd, told Business Line. The investment in the Nigeria project will be made from internal accruals. It is expected to go on stream by December 2009.

Mr Agrawal said MINL would get the Jebba Paper Mills operational within the current fiscal. The paper mill was acquired from the Nigerian Government some time back. To begin with, it will manufacture 40 tonnes of paper a day using waste paper as raw material.

Georgia Unit

In Georgia, the group was setting up a 200,000 tonnes a year long products manufacturing facility at a total investment of $ 35 million. While $ 14 million would be invested in the first phase, the balance would be invested in the second phase. ICICI, Bahrain has sanctioned a loan of $ 25 million for the project, while the balance $10 million would be generated from internal accruals, Mr Agrawal said.

Results

In the fiscal 2007-08, Manaksia’s consolidated net sales stood at Rs 1,147.37 crore, up from Rs 827.76 crore in 2006-07. The consolidated profit after tax in 2007-08 was Rs 128.19 crore (Rs 92.03 crore). A 100 per cent dividend (Rs 2 on equity shares of the face value of Rs 2 each) has been declared for 2007-08. In the first quarter of 2008-09, the consolidated turnover of Mankasia stood at Rs 400.38 crore (Rs 256.50 crore). The profit after tax was Rs 43.33 crore (Rs 29.12 crore).