Texmaco Trimming Textile Machinery Arm
The K K Birla-controlled Texmaco Ltd, currently restructuring and reorganising its operations to concentrate on core competencies like railway wagons, hydraulic and industrial steel structurals and industrial boilers, is downsizing its textile machinery division at Belgharia, West Bengal.
It has already begun training and re-deploying employees of the textile division to other factories, S K Poddar, vice-chairman, Texmaco Ltd, said at the company's annual general meeting (AGM) here yesterday. In the absence of chairman K K Birla, the meeting was chaired by Poddar. Texmaco is also planning to introduce new product lines including pressure vessels, heat exchangers, chemical plant and vessels in the near future.
It has decided to lay emphasis on manufacturing hydro-mechanical equipment for the hydro power plants at its Agarpara unit.
"Since a number of hydro power plants are coming up in the North-east, we will gain from this business in the future", Poddar said.
The company had sought financial assistance from the Industrial Development Bank of India in the form of a rupee term loan amounting to Rs 11.25 crore to modernise and diversify its Belgharia, Agarpara and Sodepur units.
Besides, it has decided to make a private placement of secured redeemable non-convertible debentures aggregating Rs 10 crore to meet long-term fund requirements.
The Texmaco management has decided to make a foray into the real estate business. It has will develop its properties at Worli (Mumbai), Sabjimandi and Sahadra (Delhi) for the purpose.
Since the loss-making Birla Textile Mills has been closed down as per the order of the Supreme Court and is being relocated in Himachal Pradesh, the management has decided to develop the Sabjimandi land in due course.
The company is also entitled to a considerable saleable area in respect of the Sahadra land and proposes to develop it once the requisite government approvals are received.
"We have already obtained the requisite permissions to develop the Worli property", Poddar said.
For the three months ended June 1998, Texmaco's net sales stood at Rs 63.24 crore. While gross profit for the period under review was Rs 2.62 crore, net profit stood at Rs 2.21 crore.