Bridge and Roof Company to ask Centre to stop disinvestment plans

Citing doubling of the order book and rise in profitability, Bridge and Roof Company India Ltd (B&R) is considering writing to the Centre to reconsider the disinvestment plan.

During 2016-17, the Centre had first mooted the plan to divest its 99.35 per cent stake in this engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) Miniratna company and invited expression of interest from investors in 2018. However, employees had moved court against the Centre’s decision and the matter is undergoing legal proceedings.

“After March this year, we are thinking of writing to the government citing that we have been profitable for four consecutive yeaRs The order book has also increased substantially”, Sunil Kumar Sarder, chairman and managing director at B&R said.

At the time when the divestment was announced, the company had an order book of Rs 4127.07 crore and a top line of Rs 1751.33 crore. Since then, it has increased order booking to touch Rs 8388.78 crore with revenues of Rs 3082.41 crore.

The net worth also increased from Rs 328.28 crore to Rs 362.18 crore.

“The financial position of the company is healthy and this year, we hope to achieve a turnover of Rs 3,500 crore and in the next five years, the target is to achieve revenues of Rs 5,000 crore”, Sarder said.

Apart from its usual focus on the power and hydrocarbon sector, B&R has decided to re-enter the wagon manufacturing and road sector in terms of order execution and consultancy.

During 2013, B&R had quit the roadwork segment after a legal suit was filed by the National Highways Authority of India.

Company officials said that B&R had won the case last year, following which the call to re-enter the sector has been taken.

Also, after Railways made it mandatory for companies to procure their own steel while making the wagons, the company exited this business vertical.

However, Sarder now thinks that B&R’s cash position is strong enough to first buy steel and then make the wagons as per Railways’ norms.

Power and hydrocarbon sector, taken together, accounts for 60 per cent of the total order book.