Kathmandu: Pashupati Iron & Steel, an enterprise backed by industrialist Pashupati Murarka, has reported significant growth in business, with trade volumes increasing in the last fiscal year.
The company recorded Rs 2.362 billion (US$ 17.8 million) in trade during the first nine months of the last fiscal year, marking a 13 percent rise compared to the same period in the previous year.
In 2024, the company posted annual trade worth Rs 2.787 billion. This followed higher figures in earlier years: Rs 4.685 billion in 2023, Rs 4.202 billion in 2022, and Rs 2.199 billion in 2021.
Established in 1983, Pashupati Iron & Steel is jointly owned by the Murarka brothers — Pashupati, Ashok, Pradeep, and Mahesh. The company produces iron and steel products for the Nepali market, operating an industrial plant in Sunsari with an annual production capacity of 110,000 metric tons of steel rods under the “Pashupati” brand.
In early 2021, the company installed a melting furnace, boosting its production capacity from 67,500 metric tons to its current level.
The company has a paid-up capital of Rs 80 million. According to credit rating agency ICRA Nepal, Pashupati Iron & Steel is highly reliant on working capital and debt financing. Working capital accounts for 62 percent of total trade, while total debt stands at more than 17 times the company’s operating profit.
Its location near the Indian border offers logistical advantages, reducing transportation costs for both raw materials and market distribution across eastern Nepal.
However, the company’s debt service coverage ratio remains relatively weak. A healthy benchmark is considered to be above 2, but Pashupati Iron & Steel’s ratio is currently 1.5. Analysts note that with rising trade volumes, the firm’s repayment capacity is expected to strengthen.
The company has secured a credit rating for Rs 2.40 billion in short-term loans.
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