The state-owned mining giant NMDC is looking at clocking Rs 30,000 crore turnover by 2014-15--when its various projects worth Rs 26,000 crore would start be operational.
According to NMDC Finance Director S Thiagarajan, the company will not mind going to the equity markets to raise funds for these projects if situation requires. He, however, added the company will have cash reserves of over Rs 13,000 crore by the end of this fiscal.
Giving a breakup of its massive investment plans, Thiagarajan said the company will invest Rs 16,000 crore in a 1.2-million tonne per annul steel plant at Donimalai in Karnataka. It would also pump Rs 4,000 crore into the proposed 2 mtpa pellet plant at Bacheli in Chhattisgarh.
He also said, of the Rs 26,000 crore, Rs 4,000 crore will go in to NMDC Global and other joint ventures formed with various states, while Rs 2,000 crore will be spent on modernisation and revamp of existing mines.
On the revenue front, he said mining is expected to contribute Rs 8,000 crore towards revenue while the steel plant is expected to chip in with Rs 23,000 crore.
"By the time we require major investments mainly for the steel projects we will be able to meet that with our internal accruals as we are adding Rs 2,500 crore every year," Thiagarajan said.
"We are a zero-debt company with high networth. We will go for equity dilution as and when situation arises. I am not ruling it out (going to the capital markets in future, over and above the forthcoming follow-on-public offer)," he said.
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Speaking on the FPO, company Chairman and Managing Director Rana Som said the fundamentals of the company are very strong and that he is expecting a resounding response to the issue.
"We have one of the highest grades of iron ore reserves that too in substantial quantities in the world. Our reserves are estimated to be 1.273 billion tonnes. And it's increasing. We are the one mining company in the world which operates with an EBIDTA (earnings before interest, depreciation, taxes and amortisation) of 78 per cent," the NMDC chairman said.
Som also informed that the issue of pricing of the forthcoming FPO will be decided by a group of ministers and will be announced thereupon. He said out of the total eight packages of the steel plant, tendering process will start soon for four packages and expression of interest will be called for the remaining four packages in March.