VXL Instruments outlines roadmap for revamp

The Rs 53 crore VXL Instruments, makers of Thin Clients, has outlined its revamp plans which will help it move into black by the current fiscal. Thin Clients are computers which do not have a CPU and their entire processing is done on a centralised server serving a network of Thin Clients.

The company has stated that it has resolved the bad debt and cash flow problems it had and is looking at fulfilling the orders on hand to further its business. It is also looking at getting into technical support services within the current year.

M V Nagaraj, who recently took over as MD of VXL Instruments, said: 'There was severe cash crunch in the recent past which put a lot of strain on our operations. We have sorted out the issues and one of our key suppliers, Priya Limited, has shown faith in our growth plans and agreed to supply on deferred payment basis. On the domestic front, we should be getting orders worth nearly $10 million and an additional $15 million from our European operations. To meet our long-term growth plans, we are talking to strategic Indian and overseas players to invest in the company."

The company currently has an order book for 22,000 Thin Clients. He further added that the company in its years of operations has built up technical support expertise which it will start offering to third party clients.

For 2003-04, the company reported a net loss of Rs 2.5 crore on a turnover of Rs 53 crore and during Q1 of 2004-05, a loss of Rs 1 crore on a revenue of around Rs 5 crore. VXL has a debt of around Rs 8 crore.

Said Nagaraj: "We are talking to a few high networth individuals for equity exposure to restructure our debt. Once we get the operations going full steam, we will also talk to the financial institutions to restructure our existing debt."

VXL Instruments, which recently gained the global third position in the Thin Clients space, is also looking at entering the highly competitive US market, once the operations stabilise.

"The US market for Thin Clients is huge and it accounts for nearly 50 per cent of the gloal market. We certainly want to be present in this market and we are drawing up a blueprint for the entry," added Nagaraj.