Autoline to reduce interest cost by land monetising

In the last two quarters interest cost of Autoline Industries have almost doubled. Currently the company is sitting on debt of about Rs 200 crore.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, M Radhakrishnan, joint managing director, Autoline Industries talks about the methods that they will take to reduce the debt burden. He says, "We have developed a part of the land and before March we will sell 40 acres to get around Rs 80 to Rs 86 crore out of it." Below is the edited transcript of the interview. Also watch the accompanying video. Q: You are sitting on a significant debt of about Rs 200 crore. Are you trying to repay some of them because we have seen a surge in interest cost?
A: Our interest costs have almost doubled in six months compared to the previous six months. We are working on ways to reduce the interest cost and one of them is to monetize the land. We have worked out a programme by which we will repay in parts.
We have developed a part of the land and before March we want to sell 40 acres to get around Rs 80 to Rs 86 crore out of it.
We have got a mega project status and completed the documentation so we should get about Rs 10-12 crore this year. These two should improve our financials, profitability and reduce the cost. Q: Monetization of these two plants will realise between Rs 10-12 crore for one plant and for the second one?
A: We have 100 acres of land and we have been trying to sell it before March. Q: How much will you realise from the entire monetisation of the two plants.
A: We will develop and sell 40 acres because we have got customer. Maybe in the next three to four months we should realise between Rs 80 to Rs 86 crore out of it.
We have paid taxes of about Rs 10-12 crore, from October 1, 2009 to March 31, 2011 for our factory portion.
That should come back as cash this year. These two will bring down the interest cost and improve the profitability. We have no problem with the top-line. Top-line growth is very good.