GHCL Managing Director R S Jalan
| Photo Credit:
cueapi
GHCL Ltd, India's largest single-location soda ash maker, on Saturday reported a 32 per cent rise in first-quarter profit to ₹191.18 crore, helped by lower expenses, even as total income fell.The Gujarat-based chemical maker had posted a net profit of ₹144.78 crore a year earlier, it said in a regulatory filing.Total income fell 3.06 per cent to ₹798.01 crore from ₹823.19 crore a year earlier, while total expenses declined to ₹594.10 crore from ₹627.96 crore."Our performance in Q1 FY27 demonstrates sustained resilience against a volatile global geopolitical backdrop," GHCL Managing Director R S Jalan said.The global soda ash market continues to face volatility and shipping disruptions, with stable underlying demand offset by surplus supply, Jalan said.Better operational execution, improved realisations and lower input costs lifted margins during the quarter, he said.He cautioned that an ongoing global conflict was likely to push up energy and raw material costs, which would weigh on margins as the year progresses."We have stayed focused on cost discipline and operational efficiency through what continues to be a demanding environment," Jalan said.The company's Bromine and Vacuum Salt projects are in advanced stages of commissioning and are expected to begin commercial operations in the second quarter of FY27, Jalan said, adding that its greenfield soda ash project was progressing slowly.Jalan said long-term fundamentals for the soda ash industry remained positive, citing domestic demand from the detergent and glass sectors as well as emerging demand from the renewable energy industry.GHCL operates a soda ash plant at Sutrapada in Gujarat with an installed capacity of 1.2 million tonne per annum. Soda ash, or anhydrous sodium carbonate, is a key raw material for the detergent and glass industries, as well as for solar glass and lithium batteries.Published on August 1, 2026
