Solar Glass Maker Borosil Renewables Still To Close Interfloat Acquisition

Mumbai based solar glass maker Borosil Renewables has paused its deal to acquire European Solar glassmaker Interfloat GmBH pending a more complete evaluation of the firm. Due to the recent incident of glass leakage around the melting area of the furnace at the solar glass manufacturing facility of GMB, the Board of Directors of the Company at their meeting held on August 5, 2022, has decided to postpone the closing of the transaction until the assessment of the damage has been made and any impact to the proposed transaction has been evaluated.

Declaring its results for the Q1 quarter of FY23,  (April to June’2022) , the firm declared net revenue from operations of Rs 16,997 lacs ( Rs 169 crores), a 25% jump over the Rs 136 crores revenues of the corresponding quarter last year. The firm has been benefiting from both firmer solar glass prices, as well as higher capacity that has been added with more expansions underway.

During the quarter, the company  also signed a Power Purchase Agreement with ReNew Green (G.IS Two) Private Limited to supply renewable power to the Company. Net profit for the quarter after exceptional items came in at Rs 10 crores versus Rs 39 crores in the previous quarter due to the impact of ‘exceptional items’. Margins were also down at around 28% versus over 40% earlier.

The firm will also be looking to the extension of the anti-dumping duty regime (Anti dumping duty + counter vailing duty)  on Chinese imports, due this month for evaluation and action. Similarly, the firm has promised to take ‘appropriate’ steps to highlight and plead for similar action against solar glass imports from Vietnam, which it points out are from plants being owned by the same Chinese firms blocked from exporting freely.

The firm will hope to report much better numbers by Q3 when its expansion and European acquisitions should formally be done and contributing to revenues.