In an exclusive interview with Mr Poonam Chopra of Myiris.com, Mr KG Mantri senior VP Corporate Affairs at MAN Industries spells out his vision for the company's future plans.
Here is a verbatim transcript of the interview
Q - How do you see the future outlook of manufacturers and exporters of large diameter carbon steel line pipes?
A - In the short term there is some extra capacity in the system due to aggressive expansion by the players in recent years and economic downturn, however, the medium to long term view is very robust.
Demand from the domestic market will remain buoyant as there are so many pipeline projects coming up. Government's thrust to build National Gas Grid and the NELP will give rise to demand for Line Pipes. Also Thrust on water Infrastructure in the 11th Five Year Plan is an opportunity for the pipe Manufacturers
Q - MAN Industries posted a robust net profit at INR 309.2 million during the quarter ended December 31st 2009, registering an increase of 10 fold as compared to INR 26.9 million in the corresponding period a year ago, could you tell us what factors led to such a rise? What sort of financial performance could we expect for the forthcoming quarter and fiscal?
A - Reduction in cost of raw material is the main factor for the rise. We are expecting equally good performance in the coming quarter and fiscal.
Q - What kind of sales growth and margins are you expecting in the current quarter and in the next quarter? Do you have any outstanding FCCBs bill that foreign exchange component again come in the current and next quarter?
A - We are expecting 10-% to 5% CAGR. EBIDTA Margins will remain in the range of 10% to 12% on a sustainable basis. As on December 31st 2009, outstanding FCCBs are worth USD 44 millions approximately, which will mature in 2012.
Q - Are you looking for strategic alliances or tie-ups in the near future?
A - Not at this moment.
Q - Take us through the order book at this point in time, how much has it expanded it from say six months ago levels?
A - Our order book as on December 31st 20 09 was INR 15 billion giving us visibility for nearly three quarters.
Q - Could you spell out your new initiatives over next year?
A - We would like to consolidate our position in the pipe sector and explore newer opportunities in the real estate and infrastructure sector through our subsidiary Man Infraprojects.
Q- Would you like to convey any message to the shareholders and investors of the company?
A - We are one of the largest line pipe manufactures in the country. We are keen to enhance shareholders wealth by delivering good performance. Despite challenging times in the recent past we have maintained our performance. This was possible due to our approach to maintain consistency with conservatism.
(Sourced from Myiris.com)
