Winding petition filed against Kolkata-based Simplex Projects

The company received a notice from one of its creditor

Kolkata-based Simplex Projects has received a notice from one of its creditors, intimating that it has filed a winding up petition before the Calcutta High Court, the company said in a filing at the BSE.

However the company has already initiated appropriate legal recourse in the matter.

According to the latest annual report of the company, it incurred  a loss of about Rs 35.29 crore (after interest and depreciation charges) in the year ended March 2015, as against a profit of Rs 4.15 crore in the previous year. For FY15, the company’s gross turnover was Rs 530.19 crore, as against Rs 569.74 crore for the previous year, thus showing a decline of about 6.94 per cent.

The company has been facing liquidity issues due to stress in the infrastructure sector. It has been involved in building large infrastructure projects for the state and central governments. Moreover, the company’s operations in Libya were stopped as a result of the prevailing political situation there.

“The financial year under review witnessed increase in cost of subcontracting and other site expenses and finance costs, resulting in an escalation in total cost. Moreover, due to the pressure of competition, infrastructure development has been going through a difficult phase over the past three years, affecting overall performance,” the annual report said.

“Consequently, players in the construction space, especially those involved in large infrastructure projects, have had to face severe financial, operational and regulatory challenges, such as very tight liquidity conditions, serious stress on cash flows, as well as sundry issues brought up in the ambit of environment and social displacement,” the annual report added.