DEAR SHAREHOLDERS,
The last year went past like a storm with an unprecedented phenomenon witnessed by
mankind. I address this 58th Annual General Meeting of McNally Bharat
Engineering Company Limited with this incident of Covid-19 as a caveat placed before
humanity.
Prime Minister's Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative and Govt's geopolitical outlook places
India at the foci of the world. The very fact that India is the most populous country in
the world after China, the vaccination drive in India is being watched by the whole world.
As the mutant of the virus got renamed as the "delta variant", the world watches
how India deals with the situation. Your company has absorbed the impact of the
disruptions caused by the pandemic. My heartfelt condolences to employees and their dear
ones who lost their lives during this difficult times. Many of us faced the crisis of
finding hospital beds, reaching out to all contacts to get hold of oxygen cylinders and
drugs like Remdesivir to save lives as the 2nd wave took its onslaught. As the
3rd wave approaches we have to take care of ourselves and our family by getting
vaccinated and keeping all caution.
No more, is the economy thought separately from well-being of the citizen. As your
company operations got disrupted, your company took all possible measures to keep the ship
afloat. Work from home was adopted and our IT systems moved to the Cloud as a digital
transformation strategy. Meetings were conducted on zoom with our clients. Despite all
these hurdles with great strategic innovation we were able to bag INR 1192 Cr. of orders
through Joint ventures. Our turnover took a hit due to the various internal and external
factors but your company did attain marginal profit in the last quarter. I take this as a
sign and the first sprout towards revival.
The debt restructuring plan has progressed with support of our lenders and we are at
the verge of getting it approved by the 2nd quarter of this financial year.
Debt restructuring is extremely crucial for your company to get back on the sustainable
growth path. Having said that I must say that the human will stands witness to all odds
encountered in time and it is not the result but the spirit with which the odds are faced
that determines the strength of the person and the organization. Your company has shown
great resilience during these times and against all odds has managed to finish all legacy
projects and bag new ones.
Steps to transform the company to undertake challenges in the coming days have been
initiated. Our focus is to maintain our competitive advantage, improve shareholder's value
and regain market confidence. As your competitors and the market watches, I must say there
are few who have the presence like your company in mineral processing, ports, power,
solar, water treatment and infrastructure projects.
I reiterate, with our previous track record, in-house technology, existing product line
and capability to augment new services and products, your company can attract best talents
in the industry and become the preferred name in the market.
Finally, I take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to all stakeholders with
special mention to employees who have stood by and supported the company during these
difficult times.
Aditya Khaitan
Chairman