HFCL says it is only Indian firm exempted from anti-dumping duties by European Commission

HFCL says it has become the only Indian optical-fiber cable manufacturer exempted from anti-dumping duties by the European Commission. HFCL specialises in optical fibre cables (OFC), communication network solutions for telecom, defence, and railway sectors. The telecom sector accounts for the maximum contribution to the total revenue of the company, followed by defence and railways. The company has long-term relationships with some of the top ISPs and telecom firms in Europe.

The European OFC industry feared that Indian imports of optical-fiber cables were being dumped in Europe and were causing injury to the industry. During mid-November 2023, notices were sent to Indian OFC manufacturers, requesting initial sales data from export producers within a week. In its press release, the company revealed that extensive data on manufacturing, sales, exports, and pricing for October 2022 – September 2023 was shared, within the required one-month deadline. Further data was requested by the commission for the investigation.  In April this year, after a meticulous verification of all information and data, the Ursula von der Leyen-led Commission ruled that anti-dumping duties would not apply to the HFCL Group, which includes HFCL Limited and HTL Limited. Other Indian OFC manufacturers have taken legal recourse against the anti-dumping duties to which they were subjected.

Reacting to the development, shares of the company touched the ₹129 mark on Tuesday, marking an increase of 5.13%, compared to the previous day's close of ₹117. Gaining for the ninth consecutive day, the stock has surged by 52% and over 3,99,825 trades were recorded, the highest number of trades in the last 9 days.

“This decision speaks volumes about the trust that we have garnered globally for our fair-trade practices and transparency of processes," says Mahendra Nahata, MD at HFCL. “We have always focused on delivering high-quality, flexible, and cost-effective solutions, backed by our commitment to innovation and excellence in the telecommunications industry,” adds Nahata.

HFCL announced its plan to set up a manufacturing facility in Poland, to capitalise on burgeoning market opportunities and to ramp up its revenue share from OFC exports from the current 30% to 70% within the next 4-5 years. Europe is a crucial market for the company because it is expected to experience a CAGR of around 4.5% over the next five years. The company detailed its reasons for choosing Poland in a February press release, for its attractive market access to other European nations, incentive programmes and cost competitiveness, strong connectivity through well-developed ports, and the availability of specialised skills at relatively lower labor costs than other EU nations.

The company aims to strategically create a state-of-the-art defence product portfolio, pursuing both international and domestic opportunities.