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Balbir Singh Uppal
CMD Lakshmi Group |
The year and a half that's gone by saw many structural changes in the economy of our country with moments of ecstasy and gloom in a relatively short span. The said period saw inflation to touch double digit and then decline at a pace set by stimulus packages of Government to touch sensible levels. The peaking and then fall of stock market indices left an indelible scar due to the aftermath of IIP slowdown and resulting decline in GDP numbers. Prices of crude, gold and rupee rates have gone haywire. In nutshell, what transpired, left Indian economy in not so good shape, not to mention the rest of the world which was rendered worst off.
The bottoming in commodity cycle had its toll too in many industries, barring some sector including the one in which your company operates. Hence there is plenty of food for every Indian. In this period agriculture sector performed very well posing a challenge of managing surpluses for the Government. The situation will allow Government to open exports of rice and wheat once again. Till that happens we would see declining trend in agri commodity prices, which may put strain on the food companies. However the future of food companies seems quite secure owing to ever-growing demand. The similar logic would apply to power sector where prices may correct for once but thereafter rule healthy for the benefit of the power sector.
The financial figures of your company for the 18 month period are before you. The performance ratios have been quite encouraging in general. Going forward we would assess the impact of slowdown on us vis-a-vis other companies and try our best to mitigate it. Since your company has an edge over its competitors in terms of superior technology, volume, diversified operations and now power generation in hand, it is placed better than others operating in the similar space.
The performance figures
The annual turnover of your company rose to Rs. 15401.93 million in for 18 month period ended 30.09.08, from Rs. 6962.66 million in 2006-2007. The company was able to earn a profit before tax of Rs. 2399.57 million during the 18 month period as against a profit before tax of Rs. 1021.21 million in the previous year. This depicts a growth of 47.47% and 56.65% in turnover and profit before tax respectively, on annualised basis.
In may be noted that your company has done extremely well and defined the roadmap for the future years' performance. With your continuous support and the company's vision we would surely succeed in our mission.
New developments
The company installed new imported paddy processing plant run by PLC, using 30% less power and 70% less manpower and having optical sortex as well as grading facilities. Seeing the success, it took a decision to phase out the old processing units thus improving productivity. The company also automated its packaging facilities while starting small packages for the retail market. On its successful launch of “Lakshmifoods” in some major cities, the retail will grow along with the wholesale business.
The 30MW biomass based plant has been made operational and average plant load factor is over 90%. According to the experts this power plant is one of the finest plants in the world, due to its robust construction, high capacity equipments, and environment friendly atmosphere. Further energy efficient equipments are also being planned for installation so that your company remains a leader for years to come and makes increases shareholders' value more than its peers situated anywhere in the world. That's the mission with which we stared our work and it would remain there for times to come.
Conclusion
We seek blessing of the GOD for taking the company to a new level of success. If all goes well we should have new strategy in place not only to fight the ongoing recessionary phase but also well defined future roadmap of growth through expansion / diversification. We will continue to move ahead and grow further because we have full support from you. Thank you very much!
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