True Colors plans Rs 320-340 crore Bardoli coated-media JV

True Colors Limited plans a Rs 320-340 crore, 50:50 joint venture to produce coated digital-printing media from pulp at Bardoli, Gujarat, with commercial production targeted for H2 FY '29. The proposed facility would make about 8-10 crore metres a month, using funding of roughly 25% equity and 75% project debt.

What is True Colors’ Bardoli coated-media joint venture?

True Colors has formed a 50:50 joint venture with Swastik Strategic Ventures LLP to establish True Colors Advanced Materials Private Limited, which will build an integrated platform for specialised low-GSM coated media used in digital printing. The Bardoli facility is planned to produce application-ready media through the full process from pulp to base paper and functional coating, rather than coating purchased base paper.

The proposed output is initially around 29 GSM, or grams per square metre, with a plan to progressively address lower-GSM categories. Management said India remains significantly dependent on imports of specialised low-GSM sublimation media because making a consistent, high-performance substrate at very low GSM requires specialised processes and skills. The stated aim is greater control over GSM consistency, coating performance and product development.

How will True Colors fund the Rs 320-340 crore project?

True Colors said the proposed Rs 320-340 crore project would be funded by approximately 25% equity and 75% project debt, with debt raised at the joint-venture level. That structure equates to total equity of Rs 80-85 crore and project debt of Rs 240-255 crore, based on the disclosed cost range.

As a 50% partner, True Colors’ proportional share of the equity would be Rs 40-42.5 crore if both shareholders contribute in proportion to ownership. Management said the partnership shares capital and execution risk and is intended to protect True Colors’ core balance sheet during construction. It also said the venture is expected to come under the Viksit Gujarat Industrial Policy 2026, but did not disclose any subsidy amount.

Management did not rule out an equity issue for its broader capital requirements during the November 2, 2026 call. It said the company has historically used internal accruals and project debt, while also considering strategic joint-venture capital and equity where management believes it could create long-term shareholder value. This funding assessment comes alongside an INKIA ink-manufacturing phase costing about Rs 40-45 crore, planned by the end of FY '27.

Why is True Colors moving from coating paper to pulp?

True Colors is pursuing the venture because its existing sublimation-paper operation procures base paper and converts it into application-ready coated media. Management said the market is moving from higher-GSM products towards lighter substrates, making control over the base-paper layer the next step beyond adding coating capacity. The project is intended to address import dependence in specialised low-GSM sublimation media.

The proposal follows substantial expansion in True Colors’ existing coating operations. Management said the company began coating sublimation paper in 2018 at capacity of 50 lakh metres a month and now has capacity of 2 crore metres a month, which it described as fully utilised. The planned joint-venture capacity of 8-10 crore metres monthly is therefore about four to five times the current coating capacity, while adding pulp and base-paper production.

True Colors said it brings sublimation-paper technology, process know-how, market understanding and customer relationships to the venture. Swastik brings project-execution experience and financial strength for a project of this scale, according to management. True Colors also said it already has customers expected to use the output, but did not disclose customer names, binding offtake volumes, prices or contracts.

What operating performance supports the expansion plan?

True Colors reported revenue from operations of Rs 183.01 crore for H1 FY '27, up 21.1% from Rs 151.11 crore in H1 FY '26. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, or EBITDA, rose 40.1% to Rs 32.34 crore, while profit after tax increased 43.3% to Rs 21.09 crore.

Management attributed the faster growth in profit to a larger contribution from consumables. Ink and paper represented 56.2% of H1 FY '27 revenue, compared with 48.7% a year earlier. Sublimation-paper volume more than doubled to 9.97 crore metres from 4.92 crore metres, while paper revenue rose 79% to Rs 51.81 crore and accounted for 28% of total revenue.

The installed machine base reached 956 units, up 11% year on year, although installations declined to 56 machines in H1 FY '27 from 68 a year earlier. Ink volume increased 22% to 689 tonnes, and management said monthly supplies had exceeded 150 tonnes, compared with an average of about 58 tonnes a month in FY '24. These consumable volumes are the operating base management cited for backward integration into ink and paper.

What are the next milestones for True Colors’ project?

The principal disclosed milestone is commercial production from the Bardoli joint venture in H2 FY '29. Management did not provide a construction start date, a pre-production commissioning schedule, projected revenue, utilisation ramp, return estimate or binding customer offtake terms for the Rs 320-340 crore project.

True Colors has a nearer manufacturing target through INKIA. Phase 1 is planned to add 150 tonnes a month of ink capacity by the end of FY '27 at capital expenditure of about Rs 40-45 crore, followed by a planned increase to 500 tonnes a month in FY '28. Management also cited operating cash inflow of Rs 27.16 crore in H1 FY '27, compared with an outflow of Rs 10.90 crore a year earlier, while trade receivables stood at Rs 116.03 crore at September-end.

Conclusion

The Bardoli venture would take True Colors upstream from coating purchased paper to making coated media beginning with pulp. Its Rs 320-340 crore cost is far larger than the Rs 40-45 crore first INKIA phase, but the 50:50 ownership and proposed 75% project-debt structure distribute funding and execution responsibilities between the partners and the joint venture.

The next points to watch are funding progress, development of the Bardoli facility towards its H2 FY '29 production target, and commissioning of INKIA’s 150-tonnes-a-month first phase by the end of FY '27. Management has maintained FY '27 revenue-growth guidance of about 20-22% and said it would seek to sustain the H1 FY '27 profitability performance in the second half.