S. Suresh: Sailing Through Rough Weather
The helmsmanship of a brand that is 225 years old may seem like a cake walk, but sometimes living up to a tall image is equally challenging. During S. Suresh’s stint as managing director of EID Parry (India) beginning August 1, 2017 and deputy managing director the preceding year, sugar mills in Tamil Nadu literally hit rough weather.
A patchy North East monsoon impacted sugarcane production in south India, even as millers in Uttar Pradesh reaped rich dividends from a good crop. Most sugar millers in the south operated at 30 per cent capacity. EID Parry posted a net loss of Rs 18.37 crore in the quarter ended June 2017.
It managed to make a profit (after tax) of Rs 79.92 crore in the following quarter ended September 2017, only to plunge to a net loss of Rs 82.98 crore at the end of December last year. The third quarter loss implied a 18.16 per cent drop in profitability compared to the first three quarters of FY17. EID Parry (India) did close FY18 with a net profit of Rs 122.44 crore at the end of a year of see-sawing fortunes.
Undaunted by recalcitrant weather gods, the company’s new helmsman, S. Suresh, steered the company forward in new directions. Addressing investors, he promised better returns in the year ahead.
“If the North East Monsoon remains steady, the 2018-19 season may hold better prospects for sugar producers,” he said. If things go well in the month-and-a-half ahead, he believes sugar millers in south India could expect better cane planting and so, more sugarcane availability for the main crushing season in Tamil Nadu.
EID Parry was founded in 1788 and has been a household name since. The company set up India’s first sugar plant at Nellikuppam in Tamil Nadu in 1842 and has nine sugar mills across south India now.
It diversified into the production of fertilisers in 1953 with Coromandel International, a listed subsidiary of EID Parry (India). EID Parry is also the largest patented Neem-based pesticide manufacturer in the world and a global leader in micro algae technology.
It set up a standalone distillery in Sivaganga in 2009. The company is today part of the Rs 30,000 crore — turnover Murugappa group.
The agro-economy does buckle under nature’s wrath and scanty rains and a poor sugarcane output has impacted all sugar millers south of the Vindyas, but EID Parry has its head above water. The company’s managing director has, therefore, won the confidence of the Murugappa group because of his positive attitude and his ability to steer the company forward through troubled times.
S. Suresh is also growing EID Parry’s ambit of operations. The company has entered into a joint venture with Synthite Industries in Cochin on January 31, 2018 with a vision to grow its business in value-added algae. The joint venture will set up a manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu at an investment of around Rs 40 crore for production of Phycocyanin, a natural blue pigment extracted from Spirulina.
Industrial engineering and business turnarounds have been S. Suresh’s areas of expertise. He is a graduate in mechanical engineering, with a specialisation in finance in MBA. Suresh also holds a PG Diploma in Industrial Engineering. His skills combine supply chain management, industrial relations and expertise in marketing. His ability to think positive even in adverse situations, was perhaps most effective in steering the group through tough times.
