It is indeed my privilege to present the 30th Annual Report of your
company. The total income stood at Rs. 4935 crore and profit after tax
and extraordinary item at Rs. 382 crore, an increase of 53% and 170%
respectively from the previous year.
My sincere gratitude to our Managing Director, Mr. M. S. Unnikrishnan
and his entire team for an excellent set of results, passing the
billion dollar mark in income. I thank our people – our prime asset –
who have continuously shown their dedication and commitment to the
organisation. I also appreciate the support and contribution of all
our customers, supplier partners and business associates, as also our
shareholders. Our Board of Directors continues to be a source of
immense strength, guiding and challenging our strategies – my thanks to
each one of them.
It gives me pleasure to welcome Mr. Nawshir Mirza on board as an
Independent Director. Mr. Mirza is one of Indias acclaimed Chartered
Accountants and is an ambassador for green initiatives. He has spent
most of his professional life at Ernst & Young. Considering his
illustrious career in finance, I have
also invited him to be a member of the Audit Committee.
If I were to paint a canvas on the recovery of markets the world over,
it would be filled with a number of colour shades, from light to
sombre. 2010 played out very differently for different parts of the
world. In most of Europe (other than Germany) and the US, times were
and continue to remain difficult. Thermaxs major export markets, South
East Asia and the Middle East showed signs of growth; however the
recovery remains exposed to significant short and long term risks.
Today, organisations have to factor in uncertainties of globalisation.
There are concerns of unresolved energy and environment issues,
national bankruptcies, volatility of commodities, the fall out of the
Japanese nuclear disaster and political upheaval all of which are
likely to remain uncertain in the near future. Although Indian
industrial production bounced back in the first half of 2010 with
rising inflation, oil prices, interest rates and lack of consistent
policies, going forward the quantum of growth could be impaired, with
operating margins coming under pressure.
Last year I highlighted the areas of growth for the organisation,
aligning its business portfolio with the developmental efforts of the
country, to improve the quality of life. In the field of power
generation, our two new JVs with Babcock & Wilcox (TBW)
for supercritical boilers and SPX technologies (TSPX) for balance of
plant equipment are on track. Land has been acquired at Shirwal, near
Pune for manufacturing supercritical boilers. The plant will be
commissioned in September 2012. TBW has been prequalified in the
recent NTPC tenders. Apart from air pollution control equipment, TSPX
has introduced air cooled condensers for large power plants, which will
reduce water requirement by over 90%, thus saving a very precious
resource.
The second area of focus is renewable energy. India is well on its way
to benefit from developing the renewable energy agenda. The potential
from wind has been enhanced tremendously, thanks to advancement in
technology. Biomass waste is a technology that Thermax has developed
over the past thirty years. To enhance our geographical spread and
expand our green portfolio, I am proud to mention that our company
concluded its first
major acquisition by successfully bringing on board Danstoker A/S, a
leading European boiler manufacturer and its German subsidiary, Omnical
Kessel, operating predominantly in the biomass and waste heat recovery
space. Danstoker has a strong presence in the Nordic countries,
Germany, France and Russia. Both companies will be able to provide
state-of-the-art technology and process knowhow to our heating
business.
Over the next few years, expertise in R&D, engineering and project
management, coupled with indigenisation may significantly bring down
the cost of raw material and enhance efficiency in the area of solar
energy. Robust support from the Indian Government through the National
Solar Mission and enabling moves from state
governments will make India an attractive destination for investments
in solar ventures. Your company has been progressing well on the
nations first solar hybrid power plant, an R&D project of national
importance undertaken in partnership with the Department of Science and
Technology, Govt. of India and the people of Shive village, near Pune.
Our Solar Growth Unit today deploys solar concentrators – dishes and
troughs – to support customers for a variety of applications such as
heating, cooling and cooking. At our Research Technology and Innovation
Centre (RTIC), the Centre of Excellence dedicated to solar is
developing new products to provide better value to the customer.
We have challenging, yet interesting times ahead and I look forward to
Thermax playing a significant role in the energy and environment
sectors.
I now turn to the good work being done by our Thermax Social Initiative
Foundation (TSIF), which has entered its fourth year of operation. Our
vision for TSIF is to provide value based quality education to
economically deprived children. It is with this in mind that we have
partnered with the Pune Municipal Corporation and Akanksha Foundation
to run two schools in the city of Pune and look forward to taking on
more. We are very privileged to have an excellent team of Principals
and teachers on board, who strive to improve the quality of life of
these children. Apart from supporting Akanksha, the Foundation is
actively involved with Teach for India (TFI), a movement started three
years ago, placing outstanding college graduates, postgraduates, and
young professionals (called Fellows) as teachers in government and
low-income private schools for 2 years. With 70% from its first batch
of graduates staying back in the social sector, not only has this made
an impact on the quality of education, but TFI hopes to build a
movement of leaders who will work to end educational inequity in our
country.
I would like to end by thanking all our stakeholders and well wishers
once again for their continued support and faith in Thermax.
With best wishes,
Meher Pudumjee
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