Last year, I wrote of an economic turn for the better. This trend has
 continued in 2010-11 (FY2011). World output has recovered from a 0.6%
 contraction in calendar 2009 to 5% growth in 2010, with developing and
 emerging economies growing at 7.1%. India will be doing better than the
 previous fi scal year with growth of 8.5% in FY2011. China has grown by
 10% in calendar 2010; if the fi rst quarters growth for 2011 is any
 indication, it would be fair to expect a growth of over 9% in 2011. The
 emerging economies and Asia are back in business.
 
 There are, however, some concerns.  First, barring Germany, Europe
 remains in the danger zone with threats of debt defaults in Greece,
 Ireland and even Portugal. Second, many emerging nations are suffering
 from overheating. Growth in demand outstrips supply. Moreover, these
 economies are also going through the pains of a global commodity price
 inflation, be it in hydrocarbons, metals, minerals and foodstuff.
 Third, central banks are resolutely raising interest rates to curb
 inflation, which is increasing the cost of funds and altering the
 profitability of new investments.
 
 In this mixed milieu of the good and the worrying, your Company has
 performed satisfactorily. On a consolidated basis: - NET SALES AND
 SERVICES grew by 9.5% to Rs.10,005 crore in FY2011. Today, CGs
 turnover stands at approximately US$ 2.2 billion.
 
 - EARNINGS BEFORE INTEREST, DEPRECIATION, TAXES, AND AMORTISATION
 (EBIDTA) increased by 5.3% to Rs.1,444 crore.
 
 - PROFIT BEFORE TAXES (PBT) grew by 3.4% to Rs.1,229 crore.
 
 - PROFIT AFTER TAXES net of minority interests and share of associate
 companies, but excluding extraordinary item (PAT) increased by 12.4% to
 Rs.927 crore.
 
 - RETURN ON CAPITAL EMPLOYED (ROCE) stood at 33.1%, which remains the
 highest in the industry.  
 
 - RETURN ON NET WORTH (RONW) was 27.1%.  Looking back over the past
 decade, I feel proud of your Companys achievements.  Let me share a
 few facts with you. In ten years, CG has become a multinational,
 multi-cultural, multi-product and multi- services company. Its 8,700
 employees from different nations across the world work in facilities in
 Belgium, Canada, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, France, the UK and the
 USA, in addition to over 14 manufacturing and design locations in
 India.
 
 Ten years ago, in FY2002, Crompton Greaves was a purely Indian entity,
 earning net sales of Rs.1,479 crore, and EBIDTA of Rs.157 crore and a
 PAT of Rs.4 crore.
 
 In FY2011, CG was a multinational enterprise with consolidated net
 sales of Rs.10,005 crore, and EBIDTA of Rs.1,444 crore and a PAT of
 Rs.889 crore.
 
 In FY2001, total orders for the Company aggregated Rs.573 crore. In
 FY2010, CG received its single largest order of Rs.600 crore.
 
 In FY2002, your Companys tangible net worth was Rs.238 crore. A decade
 later, it stands at Rs.3,275 crore. The Indian capital market has
 recognised CGs achievements, with your Companys market capitalisation
 rising from Rs.174 crore in April 2000 to over Rs.18,000 crore in April
 2011.
 
 All of this has been due to the performance of an excellent team led by
 an outstanding leader in the corporate world — Sudhir Trehan. A ‘lifer
 at CG, when Sudhir took over the helms of your Company as the Managing
 Director in May 2000, Crompton Greaves was in a deep crisis. It ran up
 a loss of Rs.147 crore; total liabilities were Rs.1,447 crore and
 debt-equity ratio was 2.33:1. Today, CG is a company with revenues in
 excess of US$ 2 billion. Its top-line has been growing at a compound
 annual rate of 23% over ten years; and its debt-equity ratio is 0.14:1.
 
 In todays world, very few companies in the world can claim ten
 consecutive years of sequential growth — in sales, income, EBIDTA,
 EBIT, PBT and PAT.  And doing so over a rapidly expanding global base
 of operations. Sudhir and his team have emphatically demonstrated that
 it is possible. It has been an amazing achievement, and Im sure that
 you will join me in raising a toast to Sudhir Trehan, who is one of the
 most exceptional corporate leaders of our times.
 
 Sudhir has formally demitted office to make way for his successor. You
 will appreciate that he is too precious a talent to enjoy blissful
 retirement. He will remain on the Board of your Company as its
 non-executive Vice Chairman and will be a core member of the Avantha
 Group. I look forward to seeing Sudhir in his new avatar.
 
 Companies must have well thought out succession plans. Today, CG is a
 global enterprise focusing on end-to-end solutions. Thus, there was a
 need to get a global leader who had the enormous energy and drive of
 Sudhir along with business connections throughout the world. Laurent
 Demortier, who has taken over as the new
 
 CEO and Managing Director, is such a person. He has worked with some
 major global organizations such as Alstom and Honeywell at senior
 executive positions.  Before joining CG, he was a Senior Vice-
 President, of Alstom Power Sector — in charge of Power Automation and
 Control Business Unit. During his 11 years with Alstom, Laurent has led
 several business units in the T&D and power sectors, with global
 operations comprising some 6,200 people across 43 countries. Do join me
 and your Board of Directors in wishing Laurent all success.
 
 Let me end with the news of two acquisitions made by your Company: + On
 19 May 2011, CG acquired Emotron of Sweden for an enterprise value of
 57.8 million. Emotron designs, engineers and manufactures high end
 drive solutions that are used across-the-board for various industrial
 applications. This acquisition will fill a gap in automation solutions
 for your Companys Industrial Systems business.  + On 27 May 2011, CG
 acquired QEI Inc of USA for an enterprise value of US million. QEI
 is a market-leading provider of SCADA and automation systems, and
 products for the management of electric transmission and distribution
 networks.  This acquisition further strengthens your Companys position
 in SCADA and sub- station automation.  These are CGs eighth and ninth
 acquisitions in six years.
 
 As I wrote last year, “Excelling is a part of this organisations
 genes”. That being so, we should all expect a very good future for your
 Company.