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Atul Ltd | Annual Report 2013-14
Dear Shareholders,
Our
legendary Founder
, Mr Kasturbhai Lalbhai,
established Atul with an inspiring vision and eye for
details. We are working with the realisation that we have
the responsibility and privilege to be the reflection of his
legacy and are endeavouring to carry it forward with
passion - focusing on the Values exemplified by him and
cherished by us: excellence, perseverance and larger
purpose, as we pursue our goals.
In 2013, the
world GDP
grew 3% (from 3.2%). The GDP of
the UK and Brazil registered a strong growth at 1.8% (from
0.3%) and 2.3% (from 1%) respectively whereas that of
China was stable at 7.7%. The GDP of the USA and India
grew slower at 1.9% (from 2.8%) and 4.4% (from 4.7%)
respectively, but that of Euro Area at -0.6% (from -0.7%)
continued its decline. It is expected that 2014 will overall
be a better year for the world and also India.
The
World Chemical Industry
*, the size of which is
US$ 4.1 t, grew by 2.5% in 2013. The first five countries in
terms of size of their Chemical Industry are China
(US$ 1,340 b), the USA (US$ 598 b), Japan (US$ 225 b),
Germany (US$ 211 b), and South Korea (US$ 163 b).
India (US$ 108 b) comes at number 6! The size and
the share of Indian Chemical Industry only mirrors the
possibilities of our times to grow and contribute to the
economic and social development of India.
Our Company
improved its overall performance
in
2013-14; it attained:
Sales of
`
2,307 cr (17% over 2012-13), EBITDA of 15%**
(14% in 2012-13), profit before tax from operations of
`
277** cr (
`
187 cr in 2012-13), GWC of 133 days (141
days in 2012-13) and RoCE of 26%** (21% in 2012-13).
More importantly, barring a small dip in 2011-12, our
Company has been able to consistently improve its profit
before tax from operations from
`
7 cr to
`
277** cr over
the last 11 years.
The Boardof Directors (Board) has recommended the highest
ever
dividend
of 75%, considering improvedperformance and
also to commemorate the 90
th
birth anniversary of our
second Chairman, Mr Siddharth Kasturbhai, who
tirelessly worked for 45 years to build and strengthen the
foundations of our Company and simultaneously nurtured
the Values with exemplary leadership. I trust you will give
your unanimous support to the recommendation.
We completed 8 debottlenecking and expansion
projects
during 2013-14 and got approval of the Investment
Committee of the Board to undertake 8 modernisation ı
expansion projects involving an outlay of
`
370 cr: these
comprise, mainly, 2 projects related to modernisation and
6 projects of expansion (existing and new). It will be well
within reach for our Company to cross sales of
`
3,500 cr
once the approved projects are completed.
The
subsidiary and joint venture companies
are
growing steadily. In particular, Atul Bioscience Ltd has
increased its sales from
`
0 in 2009-10 to
`
35 cr in
2013-14 and Rudolf Atul Chemicals Ltd (RACL) has
increased its sales from
`
9 cr in 2011-12 (the year in which
Atul acquired 50% shareholding) to
`
30 cr in 2013-14.
The Board of RACL has proposed a maiden dividend of
15% for 2013-14. With their consistent performance,
these companies will enhance the intrinsic value of our
Company.
Our Company continued to take initiatives for
serving
the society
, remaining in step with its enriching legacy.
The erection of buildings of Atul Institute of Vocational
Excellence (AIVE), a project based on Public Private
Partnership model, began in Dharampur, Gujarat; AIVE is
expected to impart training to about 1,000 tribal students
per year. All the other initiatives are mainly directed
towards education, health and infrastructure.
Our future aspirations outweigh our past achievements,
and it is imperative we de-risk businesses, make them
Letter to the Shareholders