The outgoing Chairman of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) AM Naik (81) on August 9 addressed his 25th and last Annual General Meeting ahead of his retirement on September 30.
In his final address to the shareholders of L&T, Naik said that in the last 25 years, L&T has been able to live up to its mantra of "constantly adding value in everything we do."
"Between 1999 and 2023, group revenues grew from Rs. 5,000 crore to nearly Rs. 1,83,000 crore on a like-to-like basis. This surge, achieved largely through organic growth, has few parallels in corporate India. In the same period, market cap climbed from around Rs, 4,000 crore to around Rs. 3,74,000 crore at a CAGR of nearly 20%," Naik said.
He added that L&T's growth in the last 25 years has enabled the company to create value for its shareholders.
"In addition to the handsome dividends which they receive every year. So, one share 20 years ago is equivalent to 9 shares as of today," Naik said.
Naik complimented L&T's human resources team as the driving force of the company's profitable growth and qualitative change.
"From an environment that was hampered by the syndrome of seniority, we
changed it to one of pure meritocracy," Naik said.
He added that the L&T HR team also set up two academic institutions to further empower the company's talent pool.
"We set up institutions of learning - a leadership Development Academy in Lonavala and an Institute of Project Management in Vadodara," Naik said.
He also added that he was confident that L&T's new Chief Executive Officer S N Subrahmanyan will carry forward his legacy and keep the L&T flag flying high.
Naik in an exclusive interview with Moneycontrol had said that India needs to focus on speed and scale; hopeful of L&T’s future: Chairman AM Naik.
He added that the Indian manufacturing industry needs to grow fast to tap into the world's China+1 outlook.
Addressing shareholders at the L&T AGM, Naik also said that L&T has been following the 'Make in India' policy for decades before the current government popularised the mantra.
"Looking back, I now realise that we were making L&T future-ready. We had put 'Make in India' into practice decades before it became so widely
known," Naik said.
Naik also said that L&T has been a part of all iconic projects in India including the Statue of Unity to Chandrayaan, the world's largest cricket stadium to the Bullet Train, from Mumbai’s coastal road project to the trans-harbour project connecting Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.
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