Balmer Lawrie set to select Transafe's strategic partner

Diversified public sector company Balmer Lawrie & Co today said it is in advanced stage of negotiation to finalise a strategic partner for its subsidiary Transafe Services.
"We are in an advanced stage of negotiation...," Balmer Lawrie Chairman and Managing Director Prabal Basu said here on the sidelines of the company's AGM.
He hoped the negotiation would end in a positive result in the current fiscal, following two previous failed attempts.
The subsidiary, which is being referred to the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR), has a loan book of Rs 120 crore with a negative networth of Rs 25 crore. But the subsidiary is making cash profits, Basu said.

Balmer Lawrie, which plans to invest Rs 400 crore over the next two-three years, will pump in Rs 60-70 crore during the current fiscal.
Most of the investment would be in logistics business.

The proposed multi-modal logistics hub saw a cost overrun of Rs 290 crore against last year's estimate of Rs 220 crore.
"The hub is now scheduled to be completed by Q1 of 2018 and this year around Rs 50 crore is expected to be spent on this project," Basu said.
The company has signed an MoU with Visakhapatnam Port Trust to build the project over some 53 acres of land.

Speaking about its acquisition of Vacation Exotica last year for an undisclosed sum, Basu said, "The accumulated loss is Rs 8-9 crore, but this year we will minimise loss and in FY18 we are expecting profit."
It has engaged KPMG to evaluate impact of GST but Basu does not see any material impact on the company on account of the new tax regime.