Report on Astral limited

General overview
Astral Limited manufactures plumbing and drainage systems. The Company
offers plumbing pipes, fittings, insulation tubes, fire sprinklers, water tanks,
cable protection, and drainage systems. Astral serves residential and industrial
customers in India. Astral has been the pioneer and torchbearer of plastic pipes
and fittings in India due to its diverse range of products and unmatched quality.
The company has a strong focus on product innovations and value engineering
and has been the first to introduce various pipe products in India, right from
CPVC pipes and fittings to Lead-free uPVC pipes and many more. The pipes
manufactured by Astral are used across various applications including
plumbing, sewage, drainage, agricultural, infrastructure, industrial and fire
protection. The company has six integrated world class manufacturing facilities
dedicated for pipes manufacturing across the country with a total production
capacity of around 250K MTPA. This manufacturing footprint is supported by a
wide and deep-rooted distribution reach with over 850 distributors and over
33,000 dealers.

Shareholding
Management
You can view name of Chairman, CEO, CFO, Management Team, Board of
Directors and Key Executives of Astral Ltd.

M
SWOT Analysis

Strength:

Market leader in CPVC Pipes

At Astral, they have always focused on product innovation and value
engineering. They started this company thinking that one day they will be a
dominant player in this segment, and they believe they have successful created a
brand around us. They were the first ones to introduce CPVC piping products
with unique features, which helped us to have their niche clientele.
Innovative and Trendsetter in piping segment
Over the years they have introduced countless innovations in the pipes category
and have been ahead of the technology curve. They strongly believe that
their journey has just begun as they further diversify their product range by
manufacturing tanks and infrastructure products. This was a challenging year
for us, but what helped us survive is the name that they have made for
themselves over the two decades. Their ability to predict market requirements
and identify consumer preferences has enabled us to launch products backed by
intense research.
Wide Product range in piping and adhesives segment/ Diversified Product
Portfolio
Being a customer-centric organization, a range of blended pipes, adhesives and
sealants and value-added products like water tanks and infrastructure products
with advanced features suitable for different applications and local conditions
are being promoted by Astral. Their products are finding wide market
acceptance.

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They have 18+ different major types of Pipes, 38+ adhesives and two major
variants in water tanks. Their diverse product bouquet ranges have several
brands, a wide range of sizes, shapes, and strengths to suit usage requirements.
Strong Brand Equity
With their world-class quality and service, they have successfully Built are
lationship because of unbeatable consistent quality and product
innovations .Over the years they have won Several awards. They have been
awarded as The Most Trusted Pipe Brand by TRA Research for2019 and 2020.
In the Financial Year 2020-21 they
won India’s most trusted Pipe
Brand and Consumer Validated Super brand for the third consecutive year
Wide and deep distribution reach
Their well-balanced, nationwide footprint in India helps us Serve their
customers with speed and efficiency. They have a Robust Network of Channel
Partners: 12depots in pipes. 9 Depots in adhesives and sealants. 33,000+ dealers
in pipes and1.3L+ dealers in adhesives and sealants
Strategically located manufacturing facilities
They have undertaken capacity expansion through organic Route to sustain and
grow market share and capitalize on the Growing consumption in the eastern
and central regions World class manufacturing capabilities and technical tech-
Ups. Six pipes manufacturing facilities and two units under Construction. Three
adhesives manufacturing facilities In India, one in UK and one in USA.
Two water tanks Manufacturing facilities and third one is under construction.
Strong Cash Flows
There have been several short-term challenges due to the COVID-19, and a few
created medium-term opportunities. During the year, the core focus remained on
maintaining Balance between health and cash flow. With their continuous

Commitment, they were able to have a strong operational year During the rough
times and continued to pave the way for Business continuity and resilience. The
surge in PVC prices also resulted in growth in revenue from operations on the
piping segment, the improved internal Working structure and focus on
technologye specially in the Adhesives segment and prudently optimization of
cash flows to conserve liquidity have resulted well.The upcoming growth on the
infrastructure business along with various government initiatives are
encouraging in the Coming quarters for the company.
The company has a cash balance of about ₹ 4,760 Mn
and
₹ 4,094 Mn although during the Year, a capex of ₹ 1,673 Mn was made, which
includes the Acquisition of tank business and capacity expansion of more
Than19,000 MT.

Weakness Not available on online

In this time company has still not started selling its product online on its website
and app. May be because most of user are dealer but in future it will need to
start selling online to be in business..
High turnover of employees
Since last 2-year
company’s
employees turnover ratio is high and its bad sign for management. High
employee’s
turnover ratio cause business to spend money on acquiring and training new
talent again and again.

Opportunity:
Low per-capita consumption of plastic
Globally the average per-capita consumption of plastic is around 30 kg while
that of India is only about 11kg which is very low. Traditional materials
dominate the applications of plastic. However, over the past three to four Fiscal
years, Lowcrude oil prices and superior properties of plastic have increased the
usage of plastic in India. Hence, it is expected that the per-capita consumption
will moveup towards to the global average. CRISIL Research expects demand
for polymersto grow at a healthy 7-9% CAGR from the year 2019-2024.
Substitution and replacement demand
Plastic pipes have many advantages over the metal pipes. The raw materials
used in manufacturing plastic pipes are Derivatives of crude oil. Hence, prices
of plasticpipes are Correlated to crude oil prices. Superior real estate properties
and lowprices have led to the substitution of metal pipes by Plastic pipes. The
increase inthe availability of raw materials (PVC, PE and PPR), followed by the
commissioningof new Petrochemical facilities in India will further support the
Plastic-pipesindustry. Also, replacement of older pipes with Plastic pipes will
help in drivingthe demand.
Irrigation sector
The irrigation sector is the key end-user for plastic pipes, Accounting for a 45-
50%share of the industry. India has 142 million hectares of cultivated land
but only around 50% of the land is irrigated. Hence in Fiscal 2016, the Central
government converged irrigation schemes under The Pradhan Mantri Krishi
Sinchayee Yojana(PMKSY) to Expand the area under cultivation by 2.85
million hectares In Fiscal
2017 and by 8 million hectares by 2020, outlining a Spending target of ₹ 500
billion until 2020. The key schemes Converged are Accelerated Irrigation
Benefits Programme (AIBP), Integrated Watershed Management Programme,
On Farm Water Management, and Per Drop More Crop. Investment in the
sector is expected to rise in the next five Years owing to the push from state
governments to increase Irrigation penetration in states.
Healthy growth in government investments towards Water Supply &
Sanitation(WSS)
WSS and plumbing are the second largest segments for Plastic pipes,
accounting for 35-40% share of the plastic Pipes market. In the past five Fiscal
years (i.e.,from April 1, 2014, to March 31, 2019), government expenditure on
the Sector
rose at 22% CAGR to about ₹ 624 billion in
Fiscal 2019. This was led by several Central government schemes, coupled with
rising emphasis by municipal authorities, such as Mumbai Metropolitan Region
Development Authority,Mumbai and Pune municipal corporations. The
Government has also proposed
“Nal se Jal” scheme, a component of the Jal Jivan Mission, which promises to
provide piped drinking water to every household in the country by the year
2024

Threat:
Anti-Dumping Duty
In 2019, the Indian government had imposed anti-dumping Duty on CPVC
resins originating from China and South Korea, who were major suppliers to
India. This shit the Players who depend on their raw material sourcing from the
Said countries.
Volatility in Raw material prices
The primary raw materials comprise of UPVC, CPVC, PPR And HDPE resins,
which are derived from crude oil by Products. Crude oil prices are volatile and
any fluctuations in the prices of crude oil would lead to fluctuations in the prices
of the raw materials required to manufacture its products. India is a net importer
of PVC and PE as demand growth has Outpaced capacity addition. Although
capacity expansion Plans are in action by major domestic manufacturers but the
Growth in domestic output won’t be seen in the near term. Thus,
they are vulnerable to exchange rate, and demand-Supply mismatch are the key
risks faced by players in the Pipes and fittings industry.
Agri pipe demand softens
The first quarter of the financial year 2022, which is a Busy season for
agriculturepipes has been affected by Both the higher PVC prices and the
second wave of the Pandemic. However, this segment is expected to do well
in terms of volumes inH2FY22 as the prices have started on downward journey.
Slow-down in the construction industry
With increased COVID cases, there has been a temporary Inactivity
atconstruction and development regions. This has Slacked the volumes of the
pipeindustry players. However, this segment is less likely to be impacted
compared to
Agri. Astral’s presence is more on plumbing side of piping Segment, so
they will become paratively less affected than the Companies who are more
dependent on Agri Business

Conclusion
➢ Company should try to expand itself where unorganized player is shutting
down their business.
➢ Future trends shows that demand for cpvc pipe is going to increase so
company should take necessary action to take maximum benefit of this
opportunity.
➢ Company has acquired business of water tank so company should
aggressively try to promote this segment to get recognition from customer.
➢ Company can and should continue its innovation strategy to keep the Growth
steady.
➢Company should try to become market leader by strategic planning and great
marketing campaign.