Notable asset growth in companies like PCBL, RHI Magnesita and Lloyds Metals & Energy over the past two years

A sustained increment in the asset base by the company is a sign of a strong financial position and high future growth potential. This indicates that these companies are making some strategic investments to grow their businesses through acquisitions of critical income and profit-generating assets.

Here are the top five companies with a growing asset base over the last 2 years:

RHI Magnesita India Ltd

In terms of financial performance, the company has experienced substantial asset growth of 343.72% over the last two years. Assets, including land and buildings, have surged 5x, while plant and machinery have doubled. The gross block has shown a remarkable increase of over 1000%, rising from ₹396 crore to ₹4,140 crore. Additionally, the company significantly reduced its debt from ₹1,600 crore in FY23 to around ₹450 crore in FY24, lowering the debt-to-equity ratio to 0.13.

For the medium term, the company’s growth is driven by securing two large coke oven orders utilising silica capacity, OEMs for coke ovens and blast furnace stoves, and strong order momentum in the blast furnace cast house with three contracts won. Additionally, receiving orders from one of India’s largest pellet plants and increasing DRI market share through a kiln order and three new projects. (Source: Investor Presentation)

Lloyds Metals & Energy Ltd

The company was founded by Babulal Kesardeo Agarwal and Rajesh Rajnarayan Gupta on April 5, 1977, and is headquartered in Mumbai, India. Lloyds Metals & Energy Ltd is involved in the steel, sponge iron, and pig iron sectors. Its stock is priced at ₹825.5, and it boasts a market cap of ₹42,884.09 crore. The shares of the company have given 45% of returns in the last one year.

Over the last two years, the company has achieved an asset growth of 306.11%. Total Assets Annual growth is higher than historical averages. There is a decreasing trend in the debt. The current debt-to-equity ratio is at 0.01.

The above asset growth led the company to achieve the following targets: In FY23, the company reached 100% mining capacity of 3 MMTPA, received environmental clearance to mine 10 MMTPA, and was listed on the National Stock Exchange. In FY24, they commenced production of 70,000 tons of DRI at Konsari and achieved a run rate to scale their mining capacities to 10 million MTPA. (Source: Annual Report 2024)

Aether Industries Ltd

The company has demonstrated impressive asset growth of 303.93% over the past two years. In FY23, its debt reached a historic low of ₹16 crore, but in FY24, it increased to ₹144 crore. Despite this rise, the debt remains a minor liability, with a low debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, reflecting the company's strong financial position.

In 2023, Aether Industries Ltd launched ISBCC (iminostilbene carbonyl chloride), three commercialised manufacturing facilities on 2,600 sq. meter land, began commercial production of ISBCC, and expanded their team to over 880 members. In 2024, they completed a QIP with a valuation of ₹1,20,000 million and secured a contract with Saudi Aramco Tech. Co. received an LOI from Baker Hughes, appointed Dr. James Ringer as CTO, and received awards from D&B and SBI. (Source: Annual Report 2024)

Signatureglobal (India) Ltd

The company had launches worth ₹4,200 crore. It has 27 ongoing projects and a portfolio of saleable area totaling 48.6 million square feet, comprising 16.4 million square feet of ongoing projects, 2.9 million square feet of recent launches, and 29.3 million square feet of forthcoming projects. The sales exceeded 4,600 units at an average ticket size of ₹1.6 crore. The current market share stands at 14% in Delhi NCR and 36% in Gurugram, both in terms of units supplied worth ₹3 crore. (Source: Annual Report 2024)

The company had a stellar debut at the BSE and NSE in September 2023 with a total issue size of ₹730 crore; it had an overwhelming subscription of 11.88x. (Source: Annual Report 2024)

PCBL Ltd

The company has seen asset growth of 174.01% over the past two years. In FY24, its borrowings rose to ₹4,983 crore, continuing an upward trend in debt, though the stock price continues to hit new highs.

In October 2023, PCBL was granted two patents. Additionally, the final phase of the Greenfield project by PCBL (TN) Ltd. was commissioned in September 2023, with capacity utilization reaching 60% in Q4 FY24, and full capacity expected by FY25. The company is also expanding its speciality carbon black production, with 20,000 MTPA at Mundra to be commissioned in 2024, boosting total capacity to 1,12,000 MTPA by FY25. Furthermore, a Brownfield expansion at the PCBL (TN) facility will add 90,000 MTPA of carbon black by FY25, bringing total capacity to 8,80,000 MTPA. (Source: Screener.in)

On the acquisitions and joint ventures front, PCBL entered into a joint venture with Kinaltek Pty Ltd. in March 2024, with a 51% stake and a commitment of up to $44 million. Additionally, in January 2024, its subsidiary Advaya Chemical Industries Ltd. acquired Aquapharm Chemicals Pvt. Ltd. for ₹3,800 crore, financed through internal accruals and debt. (Source: Screener.in).