FACT improves sales despite dry spell

KOCHI: With its improved sales of fertilizers and caprolactam, FACT is expecting better prospects in the current year. Higher sales have come about when parts of southern India, particularly Andhra Pradesh, were experiencing a near drought situation with sluggish monsoon.

Heavy rains in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu last week have raised the hopes of FACT further. The company logged a net profit of Rs 43 crore on a turnover of Rs 2150 crore in 2008-09, which was a new high.

This year, the combined sales of fertilizers for April-August period reached Rs 3.95 lakh tonnes compared with 2.79 lakh tonnes in the same period of the previous year. Its main fertilizer Factamfos showed an increase of 64,000 tonnes to 2.71 lakh tonnes for the period. The sales of ammonium sulphate went up by 16,000 tonnes to 48,000 tonnes.

Sales of Potash, which is imported by FACT, went up 25 times to 25,000 tonnes. Urea sales, however, was lower by 6000 tonnes at 17,000 tonnes because of lower imports. The sales of potash and urea are expected to move up as a shipment is expected at the end of this month.

FACT CMD Dr George Sleeba said caprolactam, the production of which was resumed last year after a long gap, is selling well. ``The prices have touched $ 1950 per tonne, which is quite remunerative. We have tied up with a third company for regular purchase of the product,'' he said. Sales of caprolactam, used as a raw material for the production of nylon, have doubled to 13609 tonnes.

Meanwhile FACT is in the process of preparing the detailed feasibility report for a new urea plant at its Udyogmandal division. The project approved by the government envisages an investment of Rs 695 crore and a production of 5 lakh tonnes. The company stopped producing urea many years ago and has been depending on imports. FACT is also planning to double its production of Factamfos from the present 2000 tonnes a day.