West Coast Paper Mills plans Rs 290 crore fibre expansion by Q3 FY29

West Coast Paper Mills Limited approved Rs 290 crore on November 6, 2026, to add 4.00 million fibre-km of optical-fibre capacity and 3.10 million fibre-km of optical-fibre-cable capacity, targeting 8.00 million and 7.30 million fibre-km a year respectively by the third quarter of FY 2028-29.

What capacity is West Coast Paper Mills adding?

West Coast Paper Mills is adding annual capacity of 4.00 million fibre-km for optical fibre and 3.10 million fibre-km for optical-fibre cable through its West Coast Optilinks division. The board approved the additions on November 6, 2026, and said the projects would almost double existing capacity while introducing a new product line in optical-fibre cable.

Once the projects are complete, West Coast Paper Mills expects annual optical-fibre capacity of 8.00 million fibre-km and optical-fibre-cable capacity of 7.30 million fibre-km. Calculated from the disclosed additions and target capacities, the existing annual base is 4.00 million fibre-km for optical fibre and 4.20 million fibre-km for cable.

The optical-fibre programme would double the calculated 4.00 million fibre-km base to 8.00 million fibre-km. The cable addition is smaller than the 4.20 million fibre-km implied base, but takes cable capacity to 7.30 million fibre-km and includes the undisclosed new cable product line.

How will West Coast Paper Mills fund and complete the project?

West Coast Paper Mills has earmarked total capital expenditure, or capex, of Rs 290 crore for the combined optical-fibre and optical-fibre-cable expansion, with completion expected by the third quarter of FY 2028-29. The November 6, 2026 announcement provides a combined budget rather than separate spending figures for fibre, cable or the new cable product line.

West Coast Paper Mills proposes to use an appropriate mix of internal accruals and, if required, debt financing from banks or financial institutions. The filing does not state how much of the Rs 290 crore would be funded by each source, nor does it disclose borrowing terms, an annual expenditure schedule or a commissioning date within the third quarter of FY 2028-29.

The disclosed timetable covers the full 4.00 million fibre-km optical-fibre addition and 3.10 million fibre-km cable addition. West Coast Paper Mills has not announced construction milestones, phased commissioning or whether either capacity line would begin operations before the stated Q3 FY 2028-29 completion point.

Why is West Coast Paper Mills expanding optical fibre and cable?

West Coast Paper Mills says the Rs 290 crore capacity enhancement supports its growth strategy and addresses increasing opportunities in domestic and international markets. Joint Managing Director Virendraa Bangur said the higher capacity is intended to meet customer requirements arising from hyperscale data centres, artificial-intelligence-enabled digital infrastructure, telecom-network expansion and modernisation, and defence applications.

Management’s rationale concerns the West Coast Optilinks business rather than paper manufacturing. West Coast Paper Mills identifies its paper operations in Dandeli, while it says its optical-fibre and optical-fibre-cable manufacturing facilities are in Mysuru and Hyderabad.

The announcement does not quantify demand from the cited data-centre, artificial-intelligence, telecom or defence markets. It also does not disclose customer orders, contract values, export volumes, utilisation rates, expected sales or expected profitability from the planned 8.00 million fibre-km optical-fibre and 7.30 million fibre-km cable capacity.

What do West Coast Paper Mills' latest results show?

West Coast Paper Mills reported consolidated revenue of Rs 1,276.77 crore in Q2 FY27, up 21% from Rs 1,051.26 crore in Q1 FY27, while consolidated profit after tax, or PAT, fell 21% to Rs 111.94 crore from Rs 141.84 crore. Consolidated PAT margin declined by 400 basis points to 9% from 13% over the quarter-on-quarter comparison.

On a standalone basis, West Coast Paper Mills reported Q2 FY27 revenue of Rs 812.97 crore, 27% above Rs 638.10 crore in Q1 FY27. Standalone PAT increased 2% to Rs 110.51 crore from Rs 108.68 crore, but standalone PAT margin fell by 300 basis points to 14% from 17%.

Management said higher input costs affected the Paper Division during Q2 FY27. It said the Cable Division improved through better operational efficiency, higher realisations and an optimised product mix, although the release gives no separate cable revenue, profit, output or capacity-utilisation figures.

Conclusion

The Rs 290 crore approval gives West Coast Paper Mills a stated route to 8.00 million fibre-km of annual optical-fibre capacity and 7.30 million fibre-km of annual cable capacity. The plan expands a business operated through West Coast Optilinks, while the Q2 FY27 release indicates that cable operations improved even as higher input costs affected the Paper Division.

The next disclosed milestone is completion by the third quarter of FY 2028-29. West Coast Paper Mills has yet to specify the internal-accruals and debt mix for the Rs 290 crore project, the technical scope of the new cable product line, or milestones before completion.