Cosmo First has announced its financial performance for the third quarter of 2023. The improved EBITDA for the second quarter of the fiscal year 2024 was driven by stronger BOPP film margins. This boost can be attributed to increased demand during the festive season, a partial recovery in export demand, and stable raw material prices. The company maintains its outstanding performance in comparison to the broader industry, particularly due to its specialization in niche film products.
The near to medium-term BOPP and BOPET margins are expected to remain subdued, more so for BOPET films due to an industry-wide supply overhang (58% capacity increase over 21 Dec capacity in BOPET vs. 23% in BOPP and an incremental 17% more by 26 Mar in BOPET vs. 40% more in BOPP). The company is working towards BOPET margin improvement over the next few quarters on the strength of shrink films and many other specialty films already launched.
With an objective to rationalize costs, the company is in the process of shifting the extrusion coating plant from South Korea to India and has carried out operational restructuring in South Korea in Q2, FY24. Consequently, the consolidated results are affected by one-time restructuring costs of INR 3 crores.
Under new initiatives, the company has launched its rigid packaging business under the brand name ‘Cosmo Plastech’ which will manufacture thin wall containers and sheets for a wide array of FMCG products particularly for the food industry. The company has also started metallization of capacitor film which shall serve the rapidly growing electronics industry in India.
The company’s petcare vertical (Zigly) continued to grow rapidly and clocked a monthly revenue (GMV) run rate of about Rs. 4 crores on the back of expanding retail footprints with 19 stores as of Sept end and increased online presence. The company shall now look for consolidation in H2, FY24 before initiating the next round of growth in FY 25.
The specialty chemical subsidiary has got a good initial response with its packaging and lamination adhesives and shall scale up the same in a phased manner from H2, FY24. Many of these new business initiatives post higher capacity utilization in the next 3-4 quarters will drive growth.
Pankaj Poddar, group CEO, Cosmo First, said, “In the short-term, the company remained focussed on increasing specialty sales. In the medium term, multiple drivers including specialty BOPET films, sun shield film, rigid packaging and specialty chemicals will result in profitability enhancement/margin stabilization. Zigly will take 2-3 years to turn profitable and will be a wealth creator for the stakeholders. Pet adoption is expected to grow multi-fold over the coming years with smaller families and rising disposable incomes.”
