While all the construction companies are scratching their heads and drowning in deep waters with their dirty debt balance sheets, NCC has been one of the star performers in the infra sector with the stock gaining 50 per cent in one year. Spearheaded by AAV Ranga Raju, NCC today is not just one of the largest, but most respected infrastructure construction companies in India.
“Quality, timely completion, and commitment have helped NCC strengthen its place in the league of large infrastructure companies”, states the man who witnessed the saga of single, double to triple digit growth stories in his 40 years of experience in the industry.
‘Never hesitate to go an extra mile’ is the mantra-cum-strategy of Raju. It’s this credibility which has put the company on a steady path creating history in the dynamic arena of infrastructure construction and simultaneously contributing to nation building.
What is commendable here is the strong strategic grip of Mr Raju and the clear crisp targets set for the management to work towards, setting the house under good discipline. “We are convinced that our tried and tested business model has even more prospects to further build on”, he says.
NCC has remained as a hot company in the infrastructure sector and sailed the ship towards the anchor of monetising its assets and reducing the debt. In 2014, the peak debt of the company was around Rs 2,800 crore. The company went for a rights issue in October the same year and utilised the money towards debt reduction in the standalone balance sheet.
The company did face the heat of the economy slowdown as the others. The revenue multiplied but the earnings remained low. The firm ended FY2015-16 with revenues of Rs 9,583 crore with net profit of Rs 110.5 crore against Rs 3,635 crore with net profit of Rs 167.5 crore for the year 2007-08. However, the company made an effort to put the debt in the right order.
In an ongoing effort the company last year successfully sold off its power assets of 1,320 MW in Nellore to Sembcorp, including stake selling in Bangalore Elevated Tollway and Western UP Tollway Ltd. Future ready is the core belief. Being a farsighted man, Raju believes in planning for future, “We have ensured that our systems and processes are in line with the market demands, to be future ready. We are committed to strengthening our skill sets and make NCC a truly client-centric organisation. All of these instil in us the confidence to ride the next wave of growth”.
The order book target of the company is Rs 12,000 crore in FY17 and the company has already got orders worth Rs 3,600 crore, which is in line with the target for the year.
An increased focus on emerging opportunities comes with risks. Raju put in place a specialist risk management team along with senior project and financial team to examine and analyses the possible tender proposals or investments. “I welcome you to read our risk and risk mitigation strategies under Management Discussion and Analysis”, quips Raju.
He has built on the strength of its hardworking employees and attributes the success to the talent, dedication and cooperation with the clients of the same. He acknowledges the efforts and states, “It is the employees who are responsible for delivering on clients’ expectations.
BW Reporters
Naina Sood is a Economics graduate and has done her post graduation in International economics and Trade. She has deep interests in Indian economy and reforms
