SWOT Analysis

Strengths

Diversified Product Offerings: Leveraging its manufacturing proficiency, your Company has expanded its product offerings over the years to build a diversified product portfolio with application diversity. This insulates your Company from any slowdown in a particular product or category and de-risks its business model. These products cater to the uses of multiple end-user industries such as agrochemicals, rubber, pharmaceuticals, colorants and textiles amongst others. More importantly, an extensive product portfolio helps your Company to win more customers across the globe as it meets their requirements for multiple products

Global Reach and Customer Stickiness: Your Company has established a strong presence across key geographies including US, Europe and China among others, besides India. With exports to more than 30 countries across 6 continents at present, your Company is well positioned to pursue market share gains through tactical expansions in newer geographies. It’s customer-centric approach as well as healthy relationships built over decades has enabled to establish and maintain a strong association with most of the large customers in India and across the globe. Customer stickiness remains a key strength which is further aided by vast portfolio offerings to ensure that your Company is not dependent on a single application to drive growth

Sustainability in Operations: Business Sustainability is one of the key focus areas for your Company, for which it has SWOT ANALYSIS been acknowledged by its customers. It believes in fulfilling its responsibilities of being a responsible Corporate Citizen by working relentlessly towards reducing its carbon footprint. As a recognized leader of ‘Responsible Care’ and ‘Together for Sustainability,’ your Company has been at the forefront of driving sustainability initiatives, and has created an example for many companies.

Robust Supply Chain and Logistics Competencies: Given its expertise and presence in chemical industry for five decades, your Company has established and continues to maintain close relations with its suppliers and consumers, thereby delivering quality service and in-market execution through solid supply chain. The addition of Deepak Phenolics with its global scale plant has resulted in tremendous expansion of material management of both inputs and outputs which are being efficiently managed.

Robust Technical Skills: Your Company enjoys high level of technical expertise in the areas of Nitration, Hydrogenation, Oxidation, and Diazotisation. Your teams undertake processes of high complexity on a regular basis at all manufacturing facilities while maintaining elevated utilization rates across all the plants. Your Company has developed strong technical capabilities and provides niche chemistries to its customers to stay at the forefront of innovation. While utilizing its experience in sustainable chemistry, your Company continues to focus on complex and hazardous chemical processes in order to offer higher value to its customers. Technological competence is a major strength and it undertakes sector-specific technological advancements that boosts industry-wide innovation.

Spearheaded by Experienced Management Team: The management team of your Company leverages leadership skills combined with deep domain knowledge and rich industry expertise to deal with ever-changing and evolving dynamics in the chemical industry. They have been instrumental in developing the key strategies to drive business momentum which has helped your Company to maintain its leadership position in chosen products. Code of Responsible Care and Ethical Values are of foremost importance to the organisation. The Leadership team has emphasized on a robust Corporate Governance policy and sustainable approach to conduct of business across the organisation.

Weaknesses

Adverse Movement in Raw Material Prices: Raw material price volatility directly impacts the prices of end-products as they form a major component of the entire chemical process. High volatility is a characteristic of the chemical intermediates industry. This is an industry norm, however, your Company ensures that a majority of products are contracted with pass through clauses, thereby minimizing the adverse impact from raw material variation.

Absence of Alternative Energy Sources:Given the increasing scale and complexity of manufacturing operations, uninterrupted supply of power and electricity is required in the manufacturing processes and waste management initiatives. Your Company largely relies on conventional fuels such as coal and furnace oil for power generation as non-conventional energy is presently unfeasible and other alternative fuels have their own limitations including high costs based on varied requirements. Being a responsible company, your Company is evaluating and implementing multiple approaches to expand its ecological initiatives. It also recognizes that one way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is by improving energy efficiency.

Fluctuations in Exchange Rates: Currency fluctuation is an operating risk for all the businesses which engage in exports and imports and how you manage this risk is of utmost importance. During recent years, the degree of volatility has heightened and your Company has guarded itself against sudden and adverse movements. Your Company is prone to such exchange rate risk due to robust exports, but this risk is being handled constructively through various Foreign Exchange Risk Management tools like Options, Forwards etc.

Opportunities

Import Substitution: Substitution of imports has always been a key component of your Company’s business strategy . Your Company has built a modern yardstick for chemical companies after successfully substituting imports of some of the key products including Phenol and Acetone. These products are import replacements, offering convenience to domestic buyers in terms of availability and elimination of import costs, with a reliable source of supply. Your Company will continue to introduce value-added downstream products to capitalize on the ongoing demand trajectory.

Government's 'Make in India' Initiative: 'Make in India' initiative of GOI has encouraged many companies to manufacture their products in India with dedicated investments in manufacturing. This has placed India on a strong footing when compared to the global giants in terms of size and scale. Not only has this helped the Companies in gaining easy regulatory clearances, but also opened up varied opportunities for foreign partnerships. Further, capitalising on this initiative, your Company will pursue investment opportunities to prosper its business.

Promising Prospects for Indian Exporters: Ongoing events in global trade and the burgeoning requirement for large global chemical companies to reduce dependence on a single source have created several opportunities for established chemical intermediates players to demonstrate capabilities on a global scale. The favourable demand environment has also helped competent Indian chemical exporters to expand capabilities and strengthen operations with higher scale and ability to re-invest into R&D to elevate manufacturing expertise.

Proactive Government Measures: The Government has continually supported the Indian chemical industry through various initiatives undertaken to further boost the production of chemicals and petrochemicals to make India a manufacturing hub. Some initiatives include an integrated master plan for petrochemical and speciality chemicals and fast-track implementation of the Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemical Production Regions (PCPIR).

Threats

Technological Advancements: Established products are always prone to the risk of obsolescence due to introduction of new technologies and processes. Discovery of new products with more effective processes for manufacturing chemical compounds may put at risk the viability of some of the product lines. The newer products and technologies introduced could cannibalise the demand of older products or replace existing processes where competence has been built over the years. Your Company being a leader in some of the key products with diverse product portfolio is to an extent insulated by such risks. Additionally, your Company periodically reviews its processes and upgrades wherever required through technical improvements.

Paucity of Skilled Workers: Employees are an asset for any company, and skilled labour with experience in the same industry can be challenging to source. Moreover, sometimes there is a shortage of technically skilled laborers in India. In order to retain the existing talent pool as well as to further strengthen their expertise, your Company takes timely measures towards imparting comprehensive training for skill development, understanding the business complications and adherence to global best practices.