Carborundum Universal has outlined a capital expenditure (capex) of Rs 350 cr for the ongoing financial year. This is higher than the Rs 195 crore average annual capex over the past five years, with capex of FY23 at Rs 219 crore.

The company intends to establish a six-tonne per month silicon carbide facility in Kerala, scheduled for completion within 18 months. This would serve  the semiconductor wafer manufacturing and technical ceramics in defence, electronics and electric vehicles (EVs) segments. During the last financial year, Carborundum acquired the assets of Dronco, a German abrasive products manufacturer and has relocated the assets to India, with the plan to set up the facility, which will take about two years.

The facility in India is expected to produce 50 million thin wheels annually, contributing approx. Rs 250-300 crore to the company’s revenue, starting from FY27. Additionally, the company is planning IT infrastructure and safety-related capex for this financial year, to have a stronger presence in key markets and sectors. Given this outlook, it anticipates growth up to 11 percent, with consolidated sales expected to be in the range of Rs 5,100-5,200 crore, against Rs 4,628 crore in FY24.

For FY25, the company forecasts 11 to12 percent growth in the abrasive business, 12 to14 percent in ceramics and five to six percent in electrominerals. The abrasives’ growth would be driven by the Indian business, RHODIUS, and AWUKO.