Despite being in the red with an accumulated loss of Rs.23.4 crore, BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Ltd (BATL) was able to make a marginal operational profit of Rs.6 lakh in last fiscal.
The net profit before tax was Rs.78 lakh as against a loss of Rs.410 lakh in the fiscal ended March, 2014.
The Board of Directors of the company, which was declared ‘sick’ on being referred to the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) last year, met in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday and decided, after reviewing the unaudited financial performance of the firm, that the results signalled a sales turnover of Rs.43 crore in 2014-15. This marked a healthy growth from the previous year’s sale of Rs.32 crore, they assessed.
Not out of red
Sudhir Mishra, BrahMos chief executive and chairman of BATL, said though the profit was rather insignificant, it conveyed a message that the company with a skilled labour force could turn the tables in its favour.
“It also instils a lot of confidence, but we are not out of the red yet,” he told The Hindu over telephone.
Mr. Mishra said it would take at least four to five years for the company to tide over the loss, but it now looked attainable.
The company, he said, would have to undertake knowledge-intensive and high-margin works and plans to this end were firmly in place. The company would now focus on high-value customers such as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, besides diversifying its product range to maintain a competitive edge in the market, BATL managing director Vice-Admiral (Retd) Raman Prabhath said.
“The company is also focusing on future business from its existing customers such as the Indian Space Research Organisation, BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited, and Defence Research and Development Laboratory. Preliminary discussions are under way to explore the possibility of capturing export orders in Europe and West Asia by cashing in on the ‘Make In India’ initiative,” he said.
More productivity
Mr. Mishra said while the BIFR recommended ‘wage freeze’ to cut down on losses, the company resorted to increasing productivity by way of accelerated performance.
The order book value of BATL right now is Rs.140 crore and orders worth another Rs.120 crore are in the pipeline, he pointed out.
BATL manufactures components in aerospace, defence and nuclear industries.
Preliminary discussions under way to explore the possibility of capturing export orders in Europe and West Asia
