Shree Rama Newsprint keeps paper assets for sale after impairment

Shree Rama Newsprint Limited retained Rs 98.4032 crore of paper-division assets as discontinued business at September 30, 2026, after recording a further Rs 27.8433 crore impairment in the quarter and year ended March 31, 2026; liabilities directly associated with the operation stood at Rs 18.8302 crore.

Why are Shree Rama Newsprint’s paper assets still held for sale?

Shree Rama Newsprint’s paper division remains classified as a discontinued operation because the company is selling its remaining assets piecemeal rather than through a completed single transaction. The paper division was classified as discontinued in financial year 2022-23, and shareholders approved the disposal of all its assets on September 26, 2023. Plant, machinery and related liabilities are separately presented in the consolidated financial statements.

Shree Rama Newsprint said it is pursuing individual asset sales to seek better value realisation and remains committed to disposing of the remaining paper-division assets. The auditor’s limited-review report dated November 5, 2026 said the disposal timeline had been extended because the assets are geographically dispersed and because of the anticipated fair value from their sale. The filing does not disclose a final date for completing the process.

The classification is governed by Indian Accounting Standard 105, or Ind AS 105, which covers non-current assets held for sale and discontinued operations. The paper reprocessing business is not included in the group’s continuing segment disclosures for the half year ended September 30, 2026, which cover wind energy generation, trading business and packaged water bottling.

What balances remain in Shree Rama Newsprint’s discontinued operation?

Shree Rama Newsprint had Rs 98.4032 crore of assets classified as discontinued business on September 30, 2026, compared with Rs 100.9796 crore on March 31, 2026. The balance therefore fell by Rs 2.5764 crore over the six months. The filing does not identify the individual assets disposed of during that period.

Liabilities directly associated with the discontinued operation were Rs 18.8302 crore at September 30, 2026, down from Rs 32.0148 crore at March 31, 2026. The Rs 13.1846 crore reduction in associated liabilities was larger than the decline in discontinued assets. The balance-sheet disclosure does not provide a category-by-category breakdown of those liabilities.

The discontinued balances were reported within consolidated total assets of Rs 1,992.194 crore and total liabilities of Rs 402.7894 crore at September 30, 2026. In contrast, continuing-operation revenue was Rs 156.3582 crore for the half year ended September 30, 2026, compared with Rs 186.7108 crore in the corresponding half year of 2025.

How much impairment did Shree Rama Newsprint recognise?

Shree Rama Newsprint recognised a further impairment loss of Rs 27.8433 crore after reassessing the fair value of paper-division assets in the quarter and year ended March 31, 2026. The reassessment was based on a valuer report and followed the response to asset-sale efforts and the time taken for disposals, according to the consolidated financial-results note.

The paper division reported a loss before and after tax of Rs 34.5856 crore for the year ended March 31, 2026. Its total expenses for that year were Rs 36.1935 crore, while total income was Rs 1.6079 crore. No tax expense or benefit was reported in the paper-division table for the quarter, half-year or full-year periods shown.

For the half year ended September 30, 2026, the paper division’s loss narrowed to Rs 2.8754 crore from Rs 4.4155 crore in the corresponding half year of 2025. The September 2026 quarter recorded a Rs 1.7581 crore loss, compared with Rs 1.1173 crore in the June 2026 quarter and Rs 2.2461 crore in the September 2025 quarter.

Does Shree Rama Newsprint expect another impairment?

Shree Rama Newsprint’s management said it does not foresee any further impairment related to the paper-division assets after the Rs 27.8433 crore charge recognised through March 31, 2026. This is management’s assessment based on the valuation review and not a commitment on future disposal values. The auditor highlighted the matter in its November 5, 2026 report but did not modify its review conclusion.

Shree Rama Newsprint has disclosed no proceeds target, named buyers or completion schedule for the remaining assets. Its stated plan is to continue piecemeal disposals and explore alternatives to realise value from the balance. The continuing presence of Rs 98.4032 crore of discontinued assets at September 30, 2026 means the timing and value of the exit remain unresolved.

The group’s continuing operations reported profit before tax of Rs 15.96 crore in the half year ended September 30, 2026, down from Rs 31.6192 crore a year earlier. The decline occurred while the paper division’s half-year loss reduced by Rs 1.5401 crore, separating the ongoing disposal process from the reported results of the continuing businesses.

What do the continuing segments show alongside the disposal?

Shree Rama Newsprint’s continuing-operation revenue declined by Rs 30.3526 crore year on year to Rs 156.3582 crore in the half year ended September 30, 2026. Trading-business revenue was Rs 125.8912 crore, lower than Rs 158.4537 crore a year earlier, while packaged-water bottling revenue increased to Rs 17.777 crore from Rs 16.0048 crore.

Wind energy generation revenue increased to Rs 12.69 crore in the September 2026 half year from Rs 12.2523 crore in the prior-year period. However, consolidated continuing-operation profit before tax fell to Rs 15.96 crore from Rs 31.6192 crore, with other unallocable income net of unallocable expenses decreasing to Rs 11.506 crore from Rs 30.5521 crore.

The separate discontinued classification means the paper division’s losses and disposal-related asset balances are not part of these continuing segment figures. The September 2026 statement therefore presents the paper exit separately from the three operating segments and from the group’s acquisition-related inclusion of the starch division from April 27, 2026.

Conclusion

The filing shows that Shree Rama Newsprint’s paper-division exit remains in progress rather than completed. The March 2026 fair-value reassessment resulted in a Rs 27.8433 crore impairment, while the paper division subsequently reported a lower half-year loss of Rs 2.8754 crore for the period ended September 30, 2026 than in the comparable prior-year period.

The next disclosed issue to watch is the pace of piecemeal asset sales, as Shree Rama Newsprint has committed to sell the remaining paper-division assets but has not set a completion date or proceeds target. Subsequent financial results will show whether the September 30, 2026 discontinued asset and associated-liability balances continue to decline and whether management maintains its view that further impairment is not expected.