Balmer Lawrie aims Navratna status in five years time

Miniratna PSU Balmer Lawrie & Company, under the petroleum and natural gas ministry, is aiming to earn the Navratna status in five years time, its CMD Prabal Basu said.
"We are now a Miniratna company. In five years time, if our turnover touches Rs 8000 crore, we will seek the Navratna status", Basu told reporters after the company's 100th AGM here today.
The turnover of the company in the last financial year stood at Rs 1900 crore.
Basu said that the company had embarked on long-term expansion plans with the key strategic areas being industrial packaging, grease and lubricants, logistics and tourism.

PwC had submitted a roadmap for the company, the recommendations of which would be undertaken in the form of transformation exercise.
The company is looking at making capital investments in grease and lubricants, industrial packaging and logistics which would help in realising improved revenue from operations.

By March 2019, Balmer Lawrie is expecting to put on stream the multimodal logistics hub at Vizag which was being built on a joint venture basis involving an investment of Rs 300 crore in the first phase.
Basu said, once the turnover of Rs 8000 crore was attained, the company would file an application with the Department of Public Enterprises.

The other operational areas were leather and chemicals and refinery and oilfield services.
Regarding the JV Transafe, he said investors were being scouted to sell off the shares of the other partner.