ICSA eyes 60% revenues from infra services

Ties up with China’s Yantai Dongfang for Scada business

ICSA (India) Limited, a Hyderabad-based provider of embedded software solutions and infrastructure deployment services for the power sector, is expecting the infrastructure services business to contribute 60 per cent to its revenues in the current financial year from 40 per cent last fiscal, said chairman and managing director G Bala Reddy.

The company, which clocked a net income of Rs 1,102 crore in 2008-09, derived 40 per cent of its revenues from infrastructure services and the rest from embedded software solutions last year. Net income stood at Rs 305.73 crore for the quarter ended June 2009 and it foresees a 20-25 per cent growth in FY10. ICSA currently has Rs 2,000 crore on its order book, to be executed in the next 18 to 24 months.

“Rise in infrastructure spending immensely benefited the company and therefore we experienced high value orders. Hence, the company’s segmental mix is concentrated around the infrastructure business. Also, state utilities deferred their automation and modernisation plans in view of the elections and uncertainty till the first quarter of 2009-10,” Reddy said.

Speaking to mediapersons after the company’s annual general meeting here on Wednesday, he said ICSA, along with 10 other companies in India, had been empanelled by the Power Finance Corporation for supervisory control and data acquisition (Scada) business in India. Through this empanelment, ICSA gets eligibility to participate in Scada implementation projects in the power sector.

“Since we don’t have Scada capabilities, we have formed a joint venture with a Rs 800-crore Chinese firm -- Yantai Dongfang -- for this purpose. We have not yet arrived at the equity portion. While Dongfang will provide us with software, we will be doing the hardware, implementation and maintenance,” Reddy added.

The real time monitoring and control of distribution systems through Scada encompassing all networks will help in reducing aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses and increase efficiency in the energy management.

The Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme, which was launched by the Centre with an investment of Rs 52,000 crore, is aimed at reducing transmission and distribution losses to 15 per cent by 2012. ICSA believes that the Scada opportunity here would be Rs 2,500 crore in the next three years, Reddy said.

“With the Centre contemplating bringing in reforms to privatise area-wise power distribution, ICSA, which evolved from products to comprehensive solutions, is planning to graduate to asset owners (owning some areas on behalf of distribution companies). We will start managing the distribution value chain at the end segment from the next financial year,” he added.

The scrip of ICSA India surged 0.77 per cent to end the trade at Rs 209.25 on the BSE on Wednesday, as against the previous close of Rs 207.65.

Gets nod to borrow Rs 1500 crore

The members of ICSA India Limited, at the annual general meeting held on September 30, authorised the company’s board to borrow up to Rs 1,500 crore. In a filing to the BSE on Wednesday, the company said the members also gave authorisation to grant employee stock options up to 500,000 of Rs 2 each.