Page 148 - Tata Chemical Annual Report_2022-2023

Integrated Annual Report 2022-23 01-83 84-192 193-365
Integrated Report
Operational excellence permeates every aspect of the bicarbonate was down by 3% to 2.3 lakh MT in
Company’s operations and its people. Cost reduction, FY 2022-23.
faster resolution of customer issues, and world-class
manufacturing are the mainstays of a culture of continuous b. Basic Chemistry Products
improvement at the Company. Industry Structure & Developments
II.
The Company serves customers across five continents
The Company is on an accelerated path towards through its Basic Chemistry Products (‘BCP’) business
digitalisation. By adopting several digital initiatives (soda ash, salt, sodium bicarbonate, cement and marine
and new age technologies like IIoT, remote sensing, chemicals). The Company’s global supply chain gives it
automation etc., the Company is focussed on improving the unique advantage of maintaining reliable supply and
its manufacturing and process efficiencies.
efficient service at competitive prices.
4. Operational Performance The Company has a soda ash capacity of 4.3 million tonnes.
a. Tata Chemicals Overview More than two-thirds of this is natural soda ash, located
I. Annual Performance Overview in Green River Basin, Wyoming, USA, where the world’s
The Company achieved a consolidated revenue largest deposits of Trona are situated, and in Lake Magadi
of ` 16,789 crore (33% increase over FY 2021-22) in Kenya. In addition to having lower manufacturing costs,
and EBITDA of ` 3,822 crore (66% increase over natural soda ash has a lower energy and environmental
FY 2021-22). footprint. Synthetic soda ash and sodium bicarbonate are
manufactured at Mithapur, India and Northwich, UK, to
The global soda ash demand continued to recover cater to their respective domestic and export markets.
at a gradual pace in FY 2022-23. The consolidated
soda ash sales volumes were slightly down by 3%, to I. Soda Ash
35.4 lakh Metric Tonnes (‘MT’), in FY 2022-23 against World soda ash capacity contracted a little, which
the previous year. The pace of global demand was pushed operating rates slightly on the upward side, in
affected by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, elevated the financial year under review due to tight supplies. III. Salt
energy prices and subsequent monetary tightening Solar glass and lithium carbonate continued to drive
policies in the US, and slowing economic growth. the soda ash demand in China and Latin America.
Indian soda ash demand remained steady, driven Aggressive focus on green energy is driving increased
mainly by container, flat and solar glass segments. usage of glass for solar panels and lithium carbonate
Solar glass and lithium carbonate continued to drive for EV battery applications, leading to sharp demand
soda ash demand globally. Despite a challenging growth for soda ash, which is a vital ingredient in
input cost and supply chain environment, the these two sectors.
Company was able to generate record profitability c. Specialty Products
in FY 2022-23. Indian soda ash demand remained steady during I.
FY 2022-23, growing at around 4.0-4.5%, driven
All the geographies showed improved operating mainly by container, flat and solar glass segments.
and financial performance in FY 2022-23 against Considering annual solar installations of 20–25 GW,
FY 2021-22. The soda ash export markets, which are solar glass is expected to remain a key demand driver.
in particular served by the US and Kenyan units, saw Increasing supply chain costs and rise in global soda
strong demand and pricing recovery during FY 2022-23. ash prices resulted in import parcels coming at higher
The Indian market continues to be short supplied prices during the year.
and remains a net importer of soda ash, which is
expected to continue. This provides an opportunity Domestic availability remained normal, with no
for further capacity expansion, and the Company has major outages and high operating rates due to
planned for phase 2 capacity expansion in Mithapur for steady demand.
soda ash and sodium bicarbonate, and in Cuddalore Imported material availability was tight in the first
for silica, as part of its growth plans. half of the year but started to ease in the second half
with easing of supply chains and lower ocean freight
Salt volumes grew at a steady pace of 1%, to 16.3 rates. Coal prices remained volatile and surged after
lakh MT, in FY 2022-23, and the volume of sodium the Russia-Ukraine conflict. This kept the production
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Statutory Reports Financial Statements
Management Discussion
& Analysis
costs higher, though some of this was passed on to fructo-oligosaccharide, a prebiotic dietary fibre that
the customers. Prices began to fall in the second half, promotes the growth of the gut microbiome which
but high inflationary pressures kept demand and in turn positively improves digestive health, mineral
margins under control. absorption and immunity.
Sodium Bicarbonate The Company’s partnership with Indian and global
Sodium bicarbonate is a versatile product having a academic institutions and research bodies to further
wide range of applications like food additives, animal understand the gut microbiota and related health
feed, pharmaceuticals, dyes, textiles and industrial effects will help it build a leadership position in
emission control. The Company believes that given its this space in the long run. This will create a base for
wide range of current and emerging new applications, extending the fermentation platform to several other
green and sustainable solutions for a wider range of
sodium bicarbonate will sustain consistent growth,
besides offering significant value addition potential products and applications.
in the future. III. Agrochemicals & Seeds
The Company has a total annual capacity of 0.24 India has emerged as a net exporter of agricultural
million tonnes per annum in India and the UK. Sodium products in recent years. During FY 2021-22,
bicarbonate demand grew at a healthy rate of about agricultural exports reached an all-time high of US$
4% in FY 2022-23. Higher demand for processed 50.2 billion. The value of agri-food exports, including
food products, pharmaceuticals, textiles, specialty processed food exports, was about 10.9% of India's
chemicals and animal feed will continue to drive total exports during FY 2021-22. Government
bicarb demand in India at 6% to 7% CAGR for the encouragement to farmer-producer organisations,
thrust on crop diversification, improved agricultural
next five years. Indian bicarb capacity was flat in productivity through support provided for
FY 2022- 23 and overall demand-supply remained mechanisation, and the creation of the Agriculture
between balanced and tight. Infrastructure Fund helped in improvement of yields.
However, India’s crop yields are still lower than the
Americas, Europe and China.
Being an essential food ingredient, edible salt did not
experience demand challenges in India even during Agrochemicals
the high inflationary situation. However, in the UK The agrochemicals market in India is a rapidly growing
market, the demand for both edible and non-edible industry due to the increasing demand for food and
applications was affected due to slowdown in the the need to ensure food security in the country. India’s
leisure and hospitality sectors. agrochemicals market is projected to sustain the past
five-year growth trend of ~6% over the next five years.
Indian agriculture is faced with the challenge of losses
Specialty Silica caused by pest attacks. Every year in India, pests,
diseases and weeds cause crop loss of 20-30% on an
TCL’s wide range of conventional and HDS products average. Despite this, India’s crop protection usage is
allows it to participate in markets poised for one of the lowest worldwide.
growth, driven by a push for sustainability across Indian Agrochemicals usage pattern
application sectors. In FY 2022-23, the overall market
demand growth remained healthy. The Company 5%
believes that long-term trends like tightening of 21%
automotive labelling standards will drive demand for 49%
high- performance, low noise and fuel-efficient green
tyres, which need superior materials like HDS.
II. Prebiotics & Formulations
The Company has growing expertise in the 25%
fermentation platform for synthesis of products and
solutions. The business offers solutions for human Insecticides Herbicides
and animal gut health through its flagship product - Fungicides Others
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