Great Eastern Shipping Company

Dear Shareholders,
 
 The financial year 2008-09 will go down in the chronicles of history as
 one of the most tumultuous years and a period of acute volatility. This
 was true of the entire global economy and in particular for the
 shipping industry. While the world witnessed the
 collapse/nationalization of many global banking giants and business
 activity fell staggeringly, the tanker markets held firm for the most
 of it. The dry bulk sector on the other hand, saw very high volatility
 as it experienced in a short span of time both historical highs as well
 as historical lows on freight rates.
 
 In the midst of such an environment, Great Eastern has performed
 reasonably well. This has been possible due to the foresight of the
 professional management team and the Companys conservative operating
 strategies which has always been the guiding principle of this Company.
 Your Company has recorded a net profit of Rs.1384.82 crores on a
 standalone basis and Rs.1417.83 crores on a consolidated basis and has
 announced a total dividend of Rs.8.00 per share.
 
 The outlook for the global economy is clearly not very bright as the
 US, EU, UK and other major Western economies are projecting negative
 GDP growth for 2009. Global trade volumes are also expected to shrink.
 
 Contraction in world output is likely to impact the two major drivers
 of shipping, viz., energy consumption and steel demand. All of these
 point towards extreme caution in the year ahead for the shipping
 industry. In such an environment, your Company is treading cautiously
 and gearing itself to face the tough times.
 
 Your Companys subsidiary, Greatship (India) Limited, has now achieved
 significant size of operations and has added
 Rs.44.7crorestotheconsolidated net profit of your Company. The coming
 year is likely to see a much bigger contribution from them as they take
 deliveries of 9 new state-of-the-art vessels and a newly built 350 feet
 Jack up Rig.
 
 Looking ahead, I foresee another year of a challenging business
 environment. Here I would like to re-emphasize and request for support
 from all its constituent stakeholders as your Company strives to tide
 over these times to achieve yet higher levels of performance and
 operational excellence always keeping paramount the safety of life,
 cargo and environment.
 
 Finally, I would like to thank all my colleagues, onshore and on board
 all our vessels for their unstinting support and commitment.
 
                                               With warm regards,
 
                                                    K. M. Sheth
                                             Executive Chairman