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Informist, Wednesday, Apr. 2, 2025

 

KOLKATA – C.K. Birla Group company BirlaNu Ltd. plans to acquire companies in piping, construction chemicals, and blocks and panels space to increase its market share in these segments and evolve into a holistic building material solutions company, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Akshat Seth said Wednesday. 

 

Seth said that the company is increasingly focussing on growing its pipes business where it has been weaker as compared to its other product portfolio and competition. 

 

"We are coming up with new piping products which is entirely a new segment and we are one of the very few companies which have the technology to make it. It is called Oriented Poly Vinyl Chloride Pipe and is poised to replace the ductile iron-based pipes in a few years," Seth told mediapersons here on the sidelines of unveiling its new brand logo. 

 

For this product, HIL Ltd., which recently renamed itself as BirlaNu, is setting up a plant in Patna which will commence production by end of December.

 

"But we are also looking at acquisitions especially in the piping segment to expand our portfolio and reach," Seth said. "The other focus areas where we are looking to acquire companies are construction chemicals and blocks and panels which we internally call as walls business."

 

Seth said that although the company has decided to invest INR 13 billion in the span of next three years, no specific budget has been allotted for acquisitions. The planned investment will be done for capacity expansion via organic and inorganic means, and also expand its portfolio and reach. The capital expenditure will be funded via a mix of internal accruals and borrowing. 

 

"There is no specific allotment for acquisition, it entirely depends on the prospect of the acquisition and if it adds value to our business. As such we are also open to picking up stakes in companies apart from full acquisition," he said. 

 

To further its piping business in east India, which accounts for around 22% of its total domestic business, BirlaNu, last year acquired Patna-based Crestia Polytech, which used to make the Topline brand of pipes and fittings, together with its four other subsidiaries at an enterprise value of INR 2.7 billion.

 

Vijay Kumar Lahoti, the company's vice-president and business head of roofing and building solutions, said that BirlaNu aims to gain market share in all of the product segments it operates in in the coming few years. However, he did not divulge the market share gain targets that the company has set. 

 

In the roofing business, BirlaNu is the market leader with 24% value share and 27% share in terms of sales volume. In the piping business, however, where the company has been focussing to grow, its market share is not significant. 

 

Seth said that BirlaNu is targeting to increase its exports from India and also grow the business in countries like China and the US. West Asia is another key focus area for the company in global sales. 

 

Shares of HIL closed nearly 1% lower at INR 1,810.3 on the National Stock Exchange. End
 

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Reported by Avishek Rakshit

Edited by Deepshikha Bhardwaj

 

 

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