Company Profile
Praj Industries Ltd. (PIL), was incorporated in 1985. Praj is promoted by Mr. Pramod Chaudhari and associates. PIL started a manufacturing facility in 2007 at Kandla SEZ, Gujrat. Later in 2008 it started its pilot plant to manage its R&D on second-generation cellulosic ethanol technology at Praj Matrix R&D Center. Further in year 2015 Praj acquired 50.2% stake in Praj HiPurity Systems Ltd and gradually raised its stake to 100% in 2015. Currently, as per PIL’s FY23 annual report the company has three R&D centers at different places near Pune. Additionally, the company has two manufacturing facilities both around Pune in Daund and Jejuri. It’s export oriented units are located in Kandla SEZ, Gujrat. PIL has its presence in India, Thailand, USA and The Philippines.
Praj has three business verticals~
(a) Bioenergy business: Under this vertical the company offers a complete suite of Bio-energy products such as Bio-CNG, isobutanol, multi-feed, modernization of existing plants which involves process design, engineering, fabrication, and commissioning of ethanol plants.
(b) HiPurity Systems: It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Praj with a market share of 35%-40%. Through this vertical the company offers ultra-high purity water systems, modular process systems (MPS) and fermentation solutions to customers engaged in biopharmaceuticals, sterile formulations, complex injectables, cosmetics, and the wellness industries.
(c) Engineering business: Under this section further has three sub sections~ water & waste water treatment, critical process engineering (provides high-end equipment and systems finding applications in industries such as oil & gas, petrochemical, fertilizer and chemicals industries), and brewery plants and equipment.
Investment Rationale
· IOCL and PRJ collaborate to strengthen India's biofuel production capacities
Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. and Praj Industries Joint Venture for Biofuel production. The company recently announced about that they have signed a term sheet to advance plans to strengthen biofuels production capacities in India. Biofuels covered under this MOU include Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), Ethanol, Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG), Biodiesel and Bio-bitumen among others. This JV will facilitate new opportunities of growth for both the organizations and will help India in achieving a net zero operational emissions by 2046. Additionally, information about this JV is this will be nation’s first-of-its-kind advanced biofuels refinery at IOC’s Panipat complex and is based on PIL’s 2G technology. This JV will help PIL strengthen its topline with healthy margins. As per reports the JV of IOC and PIL is expected to be operational by the end of FY24.
The company is in partnership with Gevo inc., for offering manufacturing solutions for SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuels). As per reports under this collaboration Gevo Inc will bring in license in technology and PIL will provide technology, equipment, and EPC services to refineries to convert renewable isobutane into SAF.
· Healthy Order book
As per company’s annual report FY23 the order book of Praj Industries stands at Rs 4057 as on 31st March 2023. The order book witnessed a 17% YoY growth from Rs 3464 crores in FY22. In FY23 the company made a Capex of Rs 58 crores and on an average from past four years the company made a Capex of Rs 33 crores. Additionally, the company has received a final approval for a Capex investment of Rs 200 crores+to set up a modern manufacturing facility for energy transition and climate action.
· Major beneficiary of EPB 20 Programme
The EPB 20 programme is launched by Government of India with an aim of enhancing India’s energy resources to curb upon dependency on import of fuels, outflow of Foreign Exchange and to save the environment by building a net zero carbon emissions country. The government has set a goal of 20% ethanol blending in petrol by FY2025-2026 and Praj is a market leader in in the domestic 1G ethanol segment and a key player in 2G ethanol segment. We believe the rising demand of ethanol will strengthen the growth prospects of company. Praj has world class manufacturing facilities with advanced technology which will help the company to leverage its order inflow.
The current total ethanol production capacity is about 1200cr litres (which includes
more than 800cr litres of molasses based production capacity and balance grain based
production capacity). Further, the current ethanol blending rate in India has reached a
level of 11.7% as on 29th June with 318crore litres of ethanol lifted. Further, BH route
have contributed 138cr litres, followed by Juice route 120cr litres and balance 56cr litres
have come from grain route. With the Government’s plan to reach 12% by 2023 and 20%
by 2025 there is significant capacity that needs to be built to cater to the additional
blending requirement which augurs well for PRJ being the market leader.
· Capital expenditure of approximately Rs100cr for their CPES business
A capital expenditure of approximately Rs100cr for their CPES business, which primarily
caters to exports. This move is likely to benefit their FY25 engineering division performance.
Financial Analysis
Past five year financial analysis (FY18-FY23)
The five year Revenue and PAT CAGR of the company is at 31% & 47% respectively. For the year ended 31sMarch 2023, the revenue of the company was at Rs 3528 crores, an increase of 51% on YoY basis. EBITDA for the year was at Rs 308 crores, increased by 59% on YoY basis. EBITDA margins of the company are at 9%, increased by 100bps on YoY basis. PAT for the year was at Rs 240 crores, increased by 60% on YoY basis. During the year the company witnessed a significant gain in Other Income which accounted for Rs 45 cores on an aggregate basis.
Q4 FY23 Financial Analysis
For the quarter ended 31st March 2023, the revenue of the company stood at Rs 1004 crores, increased by 21% on YoY basis. EBITDA for the year was at Rs 108 crores, increased by 38% on YoY basis. EBITDA margins for the quarter are at 11%, increased by 200bps from 9% in Q4 FY22. PAT for the quarter was at Rs 88 crores, an increase of 52% on YoY basis.
Risk & Concerns
· Susceptible to fluctuations raw material prices
The company uses various heavy raw materials such as steel which is exposed to price fluctuations. This increases input cost for the company resulting in margin pressure.
Outlook & Valuation
Praj Industries Ltd., is one of the oldest and strongest players of the industry. The company is a market leader in in the domestic 1G ethanol segment and a key player in 2G ethanol segment. We believe it is a strong beneficiary of EPB 20 programme which aims for ethanol blending of 20% with petrol by 2025. Additionally, Praj is the only company in India which has SAF production technology in partnership with Gevo and Axensa USA and French based companies respectively. This gives tremendous opportunities and strong order inflows to the company. The company’s future Capex plans focused on developing a modern manufacturing facility for energy transition and climate action and R&D spends. Overall, we believe that future growth prospects of the company are very strong. We also expect margin expansion on account of correction in steel prices. We believe praj’s Engineering business (CPES, ZLD & ETP segments) is the growth driver for the company.
At CMP of Rs 420, the stock was trading at a PE of 23x its FY25E earnings. We recommend a ‘BUY’ rating to the stock.