Energy and environment solutions major Thermax posted a 25 per cent decline in first quarter profit at Rs 50.3 crore, against Rs 67.2 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal.
The operating revenue for the Pune-based company stood at Rs 862.8 crore against Rs 983.5 crore in the same period last year, a decline of 12 per cent.
The company’s order book, however, was up 68 per centat Rs 2,123 crore (Rs 1,258 crore).
Addressing shareholders at the AGM here on Thursday, Chairperson Meher Pudumjee said large orders were drying up and many of those that had started were stalled, causing cash flow problems.
Going forward, the focus will be on internationalisation, order booking and generating more revenue from the service business.
Managing Director M.S. Unnikrishnan said that Thermax’s international footprint accounted for 27-28 per cent of the current turnover. “We want to enhance this to 40 per cent,” he said adding that South-East Asia, West Asia , Africa and Europe were among the markets the company will focus on. Last fiscal, the company earned Rs 943 crore from exports and another Rs 500 crore through its overseas subsidiaries business.
China subsidiary
On its wholly-owned subsidiary in China, which currently has accumulated losses of Rs 8.65 crore, Unnikrishnan said that he was confident that this will become profitable in time. On Thermax Babcock & Wilcox Energy Solutions, a 51:49 joint venture, Pudumjee said the plant at Shirwal near Pune to make super-critical boilers was nearing completion and will be ready for operations by November. The total investment in this project is around Rs 800 crore, including Rs 380 crore in equity.