Finolex Industries

Finolex Industries Limited, also known as Finolex Pipes, was founded by Shri PP Chhabria in 1981 in Pune. Initially incorporated on March 28, 1981, as a private limited company, it later became a public limited enterprise in December 1988.

Alongside its core business of manufacturing plastic pipes, the company operates in the electrical cables sector. While it began with the PVC (polyvinyl chloride) pipes business, Finolex has expanded its portfolio to include the production of PVC resin. Currently, it is the largest manufacturer of both PVC pipes and PVC resin in the country.

During 1999-2000, the company started its PVC extruded rigid pipes plant at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra. A technical agreement was also signed with Aker Kvaerner Netherlands for Basic engineering and design development for the VCM plant. For detailed engineering site supervision procurement management, the company signed an agreement with Udhe India Limited.

In 2005-06, Finolex Industries Limited signed a letter of intent with I M Skaugen ASA Norway to conduct a study on the viability and cost-effectiveness of the planned LNG Supply Chain intended to be established in India. In February 2006, the PVC expansion project commenced production of PVC resin.

During 2006-07, the company expanded its PVC pipes capacity from 65,000 MT to 85,000 MT. It also acquired 20 acres of land at Urse for setting up a new plant for the manufacturing of PVC pipes. In May 2008, the new plant for the manufacture of PVC pipes at Urse became operational, increasing the installed capacity for manufacturing PVC pipes to 100,000 MT per annum.

Currently, Finolex has an annual production capacity exceeding 4,00,000 metric tons in pipes and fittings, and over 2,72,000 metric tons in PVC resins.

As of January 29, 2024, the company’s market capitalisation was over ₹13,400 crore. Finolex share price has gone up over 80% in the last three years.

Business operations

Finolex’s pipe business heavily relies on the housing, irrigation and construction sectors, where plumbing plays a pivotal role. Over the years, the company has increased its utilisation of PVC resin for piping, from 36% in FY12 to approximately 70% in FY21.

Finolex Industries has manufacturing facilities for PVC pipes in Pune and Masar, Gujarat, while its PVC resin factory is situated in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra. During FY23, Finolex started commercial production of PVC fittings at a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Talegaon, near Pune, with an annual capacity of 12,000 MT. The sales volume for PVC pipes and fittings was 3,03,026 MT for FY23, compared to 2,36,895 MT for FY22.

Its flagship facility in Ratnagiri includes its open sea cryogenic jetty to receive raw materials, storage facilities to stock them and a PVC pipe manufacturing plant. The plant also runs a PVC resin manufacturing facility in technical collaboration with Uhde GmbH, Germany, utilising Hoechst technology. This in-house resin manufacturing ensures that all of the company's pipe manufacturing plants receive a dedicated supply of consistent and superior-quality resin.

The company also operates large warehouses in Chinchwad, Delhi, Indore, and Cuttack. With over 900 exclusive dealers strategically located across commercial hubs and over 21,000 retail touchpoints nationwide, Finolex maintains a wide distribution network. Operations are overseen through nine branch offices.

Financial highlights

– Finolex Industries’ revenue for FY23 reported ₹4,397 crores as against ₹4,647 crore in FY 22. – The net profit for FY23 was at ₹250.7 crores as against ₹1,051.4 crore in FY22. – The earnings per share for FY23 was at ₹4.04 as against ₹16.94 in the last financial year.