West Coast Paper Mills shareholders approved the company’s financial statements for FY26 and declared a final dividend of ₹3 per equity share during its 71st Annual General Meeting on August 17, 2026. The meeting also saw the reappointment of several key directors, including Joint Managing Director Virendraa Bangur and Executive Director Rajendra Jain.

The company reported robust operational performance for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026. Revenue from operations stood at ₹2,498 crore, while Profit After Tax reached ₹154 crore. Management highlighted a healthy EBITDA margin of 15% and a strong balance sheet with a net worth of ₹2,824 crore and negligible debt. Statutory Auditors Singhi & Co. and Secretarial Auditors NGJ & Co. issued unqualified opinions on the financial statements.

Operational Highlights

The paper division at Dandeli operated near full capacity with an installed manufacturing capacity of 3,20,000 MT. Production for the year was 3,19,933 MT, while sales reached 3,20,567 MT. The cable division in Mysuru and Hyderabad produced 109,564 kilometers of cable, with sales totaling 108,022 kilometers. A backward-integrated Optical Fibre Draw Tower was successfully commissioned to enhance raw material availability and reduce production costs.

What the Numbers Show

The near-parity between production (3,19,933 MT) and sales (3,20,567 MT) in the paper division indicates efficient inventory management and strong demand absorption. With sales slightly exceeding production, the company likely drew down existing stock, suggesting tight supply conditions or robust customer uptake during the period.

Governance and Resolutions

Shareholders passed all ordinary and special resolutions by requisite majority. Key appointments included:

• Reappointment of Saurabh Bangur as Non-Executive Director.
• Reappointment of Prakash Kacholia as Independent Director for a three-year term ending November 8, 2029.
• Reappointment of Virendraa Bangur as Joint Managing Director for three years, with remuneration capped at 5% of net profits.
• Reappointment of Rajendra Jain as Executive Director for two years.
• Appointment of Umesh Kini as Cost Auditor for FY27 with a remuneration of ₹2 lakh plus taxes.

The Chairman noted that per capita paper consumption in India remains significantly lower than global averages, indicating long-term growth potential. The cable business is expected to benefit from government initiatives like BharatNet and 5G rollout.

West Coast Paper Mills conducted its 71st Annual General Meeting on August 17, 2026 at 11:30 am through Video Conferencing and Other Audio Visual Means, in accordance with Regulation 30 of SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015. The meeting commenced at 11:30 am and concluded at 1:35 pm, with S.K. Bangur, Chairman and Managing Director, presiding over the proceedings. A total of 46,929 shareholders were on record as of the record date of August 10, 2026, with 14 promoter and promoter group members and 137 public shareholders attending through video conferencing.

Resolutions passed at the AGM

Shareholders voted on 8 resolutions spanning ordinary and special business. Remote e-voting was available from August 14, 2026 (9:00 am) to August 16, 2026 (5:00 pm), with e-voting at the AGM also made available to attending members who had not cast their vote remotely. All 8 resolutions were passed. The table below summarises the voting outcome for each resolution.

Shareholder participation and voting details

The total number of shares held across all categories stood at 66,048,908. Promoter and promoter group shareholders held 37,369,202 shares and cast 100.0000% of their votes in favour of all resolutions. Public institutional shareholders held 10,766,179 shares, while public non-institutional shareholders held 17,913,527 shares. Overall voter participation across all resolutions ranged between 71.6833% and 71.7417% of outstanding shares.

Resolution 7, concerning the re-appointment of Virendraa Bangur as Joint Managing Director, drew the highest level of dissent among institutional investors, with 4,640,470 votes cast against out of 9,967,098 institutional votes polled, representing 46.5579% of institutional votes polled. The resolution was nonetheless passed as a special resolution on the strength of promoter group support.

Audit and governance

Statutory auditor Singhi & Co. and secretarial auditor NGJ & Co. both expressed unqualified opinions in their respective audit reports for FY26, with no qualifications, observations, or adverse comments on financial statements. The scrutinizer for the e-voting process was Naman G. Joshi, Proprietor of N G Joshi & Co., Company Secretaries, Bangalore, appointed by the Board of Directors. Electronic voting data and all related records are under the scrutinizer's custody and will be handed over to the Company Secretary following the Chairman's approval and signing of the AGM minutes. The proceedings, voting results, and scrutinizer's report are to be made available on the West Coast Paper Mills website and on the MUFG Intime India Pvt. Ltd. website.