The G P Goenka flagship Duncans Industries Ltd yesterday announced plans to catapult its turnover to over Rs 2500 crore by 2002-2003 from the present Rs 1000 crore. "The company will continue its thrust on fertiliser and tea business and has chalked out a strategy to address key issues affecting the company including loans to group companies," said G P Goenka, chairman, Duncans Industries Ltd, while addressing shareholders at the company's fifth annual general meeting held here yesterday.
To expand its fertiliser business, investments will progressively be stepped up through enhancement of production capacity, achievement of higher plant productivity and reduction of energy consumption. On the other hand, the turnover from tea business during 1998-99 is likely to increase by 30 per cent to over Rs 250 crore in the current fiscal 1998-99. "Business expansion over the next three years will be aggressive through creation of fresh production capacity including acquisition of more tea gardens in the Doars region and augmenting tea procurement from public auctions", said Goenka.
Besides, the company also proposes to enhance market penetration of low unit packs as this segment does not attract excise duty, increase investments in existing brands and progressively build newer brands to consolidate the tea business's position as a leading FMCG player and leveraging its Darjeeling labels, particularly the Runglee brand for enhancing corporate image.
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While efforts are on to liquidate certain high cost borrowings, no decision has been taken as yet on the dilution of the promoters' stake in the flagship company. Said Goenka: "We will dilute our stake at an appropriate time. Nothing has been decided as yet".
In 1996-97, the company had made a private placement of fifty lakh new equity shares to a subsidiary of Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd, an investing arm of the Singapore government, enabling the latter to hold 9 per cent in the company.
Shareholders' approved all the resolutions including the proposal for buying back ordinary shares up to 25 per cent of its paid-up capital and mortgaging its assets against loans taken from banks and FIs.