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Our Consistent Focus Is On Creating Technological Breakthroughs For Our Customers. In Line With This Strategy, We Continue
To Leverage Our Existing Competencies In Technology And Engineering To Explore New Growth Opportunities.
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Dear Shareholders,
I would like to present to you the Annual Report for FY 2021-22 in the golden jubilee year of your Company with
a quiet sense of pride and deep gratitude. In this report and the message, we intend to share with you the key highlights of your Company’s excellent performance
during the reported year, some important moments and milestones from our illustrious journey, and our strategic growth levers that will take us to newer heights
in the coming years. Your Company has always pursued excellence in technology, product innovation and quality, manufacturing productivity and customer satisfaction
in all these years. And this focus will continue to remain the key value for the continued expansion and market leadership of the Company.
Macro-Economic Scenario
The year 2021 was a rebound year for the global economy after the havoc COVID-19 pandemic played on it during 2020. Notwithstanding the second and third wave seen
in some of the major world economies, the economic activity across the globe expanded by 6.1% over 2020 due to the pent-up demand, government initiatives to
mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic, and increasing vaccination rates. However, the supply chain bottlenecks due to the pandemic-related disruptions
and the Russian-Ukrainian war have cast a pall on the economic resurgence. Inflation has become a major cause of concern across the world and most central
banks are responding by increasing policy rates to drain excess liquidity from the market. These are likely to have a significant impact on the global GDP growth in 2022 and
2023. Indian economy tracked the global economy during the FY 2021-22 period when it once again became the fastest growing major economy in the world with a YOY GDP
increase of 8.9%.
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With the pandemic related restrictions being gradually removed, the reform measures and stimulus support given by the central and state governments, and the
growth in consumer demand, the macro environment was supportive of growth across the sectors. The manufacturing sector recovered from a 0.6% decline in FY 2020-21 to a
10.5% leap during FY 2021-22. The domestic market was not the only one bubbling with optimism, as the country’s overall and merchandise exports touched record highs
during the financial year. However, the global factors such as geopolitical tensions, inflation, and tight monetary policies have affected the near-term prospects of Indian economic growth too. The growth projections of FY 2022-23 for India have been revised downward by most agencies and with a negative bias due to continuing downside risks. The
estimates for FY 2022-23 growth range from 7% to 8%.
Industry Review
The Indian Automotive and Auto-Components industry is the bellwether for the prospects of the Indian Manufacturing sector. During the reported year, the
production of automobiles (excluding two-wheelers) surged more than 21% despite facing issues such as chip shortage, increasing raw material costs, lockdown
restrictions etc. This year has been a turnaround year for the industry, barring the two-wheeler segment, after a consistent downtrend that started after the peak achieved
in FY 2018-19. The export market for the industry is driven by the two-wheeler segment. Indian automotive exports registered their lifetime high by crossing the 5 million
units mark in FY 2021-22. India is also the leader in the Agricultural Machinery and Construction Equipments industries. Both the industries saw a single digit percentage
dip in sales in FY 2021-22 from the record sales achieved during the previous financial year when record sales were achieved due to a shortage of labor resulting from the
pandemic. However, the long-term prospects continue to be upbeat as farm mechanization levels, infrastructure spending, and government assistance go up. Global
Automotive Components, Agricultural Machinery and Construction Equipments industries are also expected to grow in the near future creating an expanding market
opportunity for your Company’s exports.
Performance
Despite facing challenges due to the second and third waves of the pandemic, the Company outperformed as
compared to the previous financial year because of the supportive external demand environment, its ability to be a trusted partner and its experience in working in
compliance with the pandemic related restrictions. It did not lose even a single day of production due to the pandemic during the reported year. Our gross revenue
jumped from ₹ 503.03 crores to ₹ 729.44 crores, an increase of 45%, as compared to FY 2020-21, first quarter of which was a washout because of nationwide lockdown to curb
the spread of COVID-19 largely supported by healthy growth in exports. As a result, the net loss of ₹ 7.70 crores in FY2020-21 turned to a net profit of ₹ 25.84 crores in FY
2021-22. At the operating level as well, the profitability went up significantly with EBITDA seeing an 86% increase. The cash profits also leapt by more than 251% because of
higher operating profits and lower interest costs.
Operational Initiaitves
We have worked very diligently to maintain our position as one of the industry leaders and a preferred supplier of automotive gears to a wide range of industries and leading OEMs across the world. Cost leadership is a key element of our strategy and in this respect, our efforts to continuously
improve productivity across all our manufacturing plants are relentless. We have achieved success in raising the productivity levels over the years through the use of new
technology or upgrading our machines, re-design of parts, process innovation, energy conservation initiatives, and ongoing training of our workers. Zero Defect and
Safety cultures are also critical in maintaining high productivity and customer and employee satisfaction. We have maintained our track record in these respects at
our plants. Our use of production partners to strategically enhance capacities to cater to market needs is an art that we have mastered over the years. Regular investment in
the development of vendors is a critical component of this strategy. The manufacturing excellence, our product portfolio, technology leadership, and a motivated team
are our pillars of strength.
Outlook
While there are challenges in the external environment, we are cautiously optimistic that the Indian markets for Automotive Components, Agricultural Machinery
and Construction Equipments will remain reasonably attractive in terms of growth. We have also expanded our international presence over the years, which will help us
in dealing with stresses in specific economies and pivot to high growth countries. The emerging growth segments such as Electric Vehicles (EV), small utility machines for
small-holding agricultural lands, and heavy construction machinery for mega infrastructure projects will be in our sight for product innovation and portfolio expansion.
Closing Remarks
Our fifty-year long journey to become one of the leading
gear manufacturers in the country with a significant
global presence would not have been possible without
the trust reposed by our clients in us. I would like to
thank them for their generous support. It has also been a
privilege to chart this journey with my colleagues on the
Board, the Company’s management team, and dedicated
employees, both current and past, whose contributions to
our success I acknowledge with humility. Last but not the
least, I would also like to thank our business associates,
bankers and all the stakeholders for their continued
support to Bharat Gears in times, good or bad.
We hope to be honored with your continued support
to take our voyage to many more shores of success and
growth.
Warm Regards,
Surinder Paul Kanwar
Chairman & Managing Director |
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